


More Than Blue

by Mellowyellowdiamonds



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: AU, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, No island, Olicity freeform, Smut, someone will have a serious illness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-08-27 13:38:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 44,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8403760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mellowyellowdiamonds/pseuds/Mellowyellowdiamonds
Summary: AU. Felicity Smoak has spent years running away from love for fear of hurting those around her. Craving intimacy she falls into what she believes is a no strings attached arrangement with playboy Oliver Queen. Is this relationship the solution to her problems or will it destroy them both?





	1. Girl Meets Boy

**Author's Note:**

> I have had this plot bunny for a while and finally decided I simply must write it. This work is completely AU. 
> 
> Growing up and watching a tonne of tragic tragic asian series I have decided to rip a bunch of them off and write it in Olicity style
> 
> I am interested to see if a western audience can stomach what is a VERY melodramatic asian plot.
> 
> Please note that someone will suffer from a deadly disease in this story and that as much as I try to research the disease you will need to suspend disbelief because I will not be able to capture the disease as true to real life. As I have said before TRAGIC ASIAN SERIES = MUST SUSPEND DISBELIEF
> 
> Also characters tend to not be very rational in these kinds of stories! So please don't rage at me! By all means rage about the story but not at me! Poor decision making is a trademark of these things. 
> 
> Haha if you've read all that and are still game to read it then I wish you happy reading!

Felicity flipped through the pages of her report one last time, skimming the pages quickly to reassure herself that every word, every figure was perfect. As she reaches the last page for what was most likely the one-hundredth time, a swarm of butterflies swooped around her stomach. She felt a wave of nausea hit her as she took a few deep breaths to steady her nerves. Breathe Felicity, breathe, she commanded herself. She had been looking forward to this day for the past few weeks and if anyone had told her bright eyed, fluffy haired graduate self that one day she’d be leading a joint venture with Robert Queen she would have laughed and called them a liar. 

She smoothed out her aqua dress, wondering if the modest halter neck was too daring for a first time business meeting with Robert Queen. Perhaps she ought to put her blazer on she thought. She decided against the blazer. If she was going to head into this with guns blazing she needed to feel like herself and that meant a bright pop of color. What did it matter what her wardrobe looked like; she had the skills and the experience to back herself.

After drumming her fingers on her desk for a good five minutes, Felicity decided she had done all the preparation she could. Better to move onto some different work than to sit around shuffling nervously until Robert Queen arrived. She reached for her computer and began working on her speech for all the new graduates arriving at Palmer Technologies next week. With any luck she could get this all finalized before Robert Queen arrived and tick another item off her list. If there was one thing Felicity loved it was a good checklist. It gave her a sense of control in an unpredictable world and the more items she checked off the more she felt she had accomplished with her life on that particular day.

She was halfway through her speech when Gerry poked his head through. “Mr Queen is here to see you Felicity.”

“Send him in, in about a minute Gerry,” she looked up and smiled at her assistant as she finished off the sentence she was typing and saved the file. She smoothed out her dress once again and stood up from her chair, making a beeline for the door with a bright smile on her face.

“Mr Queen, it’s lovely to………..” the words died on her lips as she found herself staring at the devastatingly handsome face of Robert Queen’s playboy son. At least she thought he was a playboy. Felicity was not one to pay much attention to gossip magazines, however once a month she got her fill when she went to her hairdresser for her monthly touch up. She vaguely recalled that the son, Oliver Queen was some sort of bed hopping lothario who was previously engaged to Laurel Lance, a very pretty and bright lawyer Felicity had briefly met on one of her projects. Still the pressing question was why on earth was he at Palmer Technologies and why was he in her office. Maybe he was looking for his father and if that were the case why didn’t he just call him. Maybe one of their phones broke down and he had to find his father urgently she thought, grasping for a reason as a sinking feeling settled itself in her stomach.

“Felicity Smoak? Hi I’m Oliver Queen,” he flashed her a bright smile, intended to charm. Visions of toothbrushes and toothpaste advertisements briefly danced across her head before she mentally slapped herself to get it together. Yes he was good looking, a specimen in fact. But specimen or not he had no business being here. 

“Mr. Queen I take it you’re looking for your father? He hasn’t arrived yet but you’re welcome to wait in my lounge until he arrives.”

“Nope I’m at the right place. I’m the Mr. Queen that you’re expecting today. Felicity right? You’re in charge of the “PQ Labs” project? I’m here today to go over the proposal for Starling National Bank,” he responded calmly. Felicity couldn’t help but wonder if he was internally laughing at her shock and disappointment. She noticed the corners of his lips twitching several times as she spoke to her. 

“You’re……..you’re in the Queen Consolidated representative for the PQ Labs project?” she managed to choke out in as calm a voice as she could muster. 

“Yup,” he answered casually. “Try not to look so disappointed Felicity. I assure you I’m not as stupid as the press make me out to be. Although I did get kicked out of four colleges but I suppose you knew that already.” His voice was teasing but Felicity sensed a tart edge in his tone. Having had time to partially digest the shock she gathered her wits about her and pasted on the most apologetic winning smile she could muster. For whatever reason, his father had put him in charge of this project, despite being grossly under qualified. She was going to have to get along with this man in the interim until the circumstances changed.

This debacle, she felt had Dennis’s fingerprints all over it. The nasty scrooge of a man had been vehemently against the PQ Labs project from the start, citing that they should move away from research and development of cutting edge medical technology and focus on the Smart Wearables line, which required significantly less R&D and was the cash cow for the company. Felicity and Ray had fought tooth and nail to launch PQ Labs. Felicity recalled the endless nights she spent, poring over figures to make the project viable and the countless meetings with Queen Consolidated. She was not going to see her baby fail. If that meant dragging the deadweight that was Oliver Queen around with her so be it she would do it. 

“I’m sorry Mr. Queen. It was my understanding, through initial negotiations that the senior Mr. Queen would be headlining this project. I’m afraid your sudden replacement of him has thrown me off kilter. However I do not see any reason why we cannot work harmoniously on this project. Please take a seat.” Seated behind her desk, Felicity felt a sense of calm, which had eluded her earlier. Perhaps she could turn this around to her advantage. If Oliver Queen was the flippant playboy he purported to be, this meant she had free reign of the project and only needed him for his signature. She had lost the opportunity to work and learn from Robert Queen but she suspected she now had more freedom to steer the project her way.

“To be perfectly honest, you’re not what I expected either Felicity,” he smiled an amused smile at her. 

“How so Mr. Queen?”

“I didn’t realize Palmer Tech had such a beautiful Vice President,” he responded with a flirty smile, his eyes on her, searching for a reaction. Felicity did not rise to the bait. Whether he intended to flirt with or irritate her with the flirty playboy routine he would not get the satisfaction of seeing any reaction from her. They had been off to a poor start with her obvious disappointment in having to work with him. She was not going to fuel any fires by reacting. 

She smiled a neutral smile at him and reached for the proposal she had meticulously prepared. “I took the liberty of preparing an initial submission to Starling National Bank. I’m not sure how you want to approach this, whether you also have your own submission me to read. We could amalgamate the two together or if you find the one I’ve prepared adequate you can simply sign off on it. The LVR is satisfactory and all servicing tests have been met. I do not anticipate that funding will be an issue. I am more anxious about project supervision once construction begins. You know how these things are, inclement weather will probably be the death of us all.” As she spoke visions of rainy days and progress reports of delays swirled through her head. She really wished she were back to her programming or back in the lab. It was all well and good to branch out but she suddenly found herself wondering for the millionth time why one earth she was engaged in what was essentially a building project. Ahh yes, broadened horizons, that was it. She bit her lip and sighed, completely unaware that her companion was staring at her intently in fascination. 

“I built Verdant from the ground up,” his voice jolted her from her own roaming thoughts. “I have some experience with construction albeit on much smaller scale.” He smiled at her again. This time his smile was different. It seemed warmer, more genuine, as if he could sense her spiking stress levels in regards to this project.

“Verdant…..the nightclub? Oh I wasn’t aware you oversaw the construction of that. I’m usually more focused on the technology side of things. This is my baby though. I have visions of a state of the art lab facility, housing harmonious teams of brilliant minds making breakthroughs in technology and science. I just have to get the damn thing built first.” Her eyes lit up dreamily as she spoke. “Sorry I get stupidly excited about this lab. I go off to Lala land every time I think of the end result. You’ll soon get used to it. So what do you think?”

“I think you’re absolutely charming when you go off to Lala Land,” he responded, that flirty smile making an appearance again.

“I think you know I was asking about the proposal Mr. Queen,” she responded coolly, partially annoyed at herself and partially annoyed at him. She really should not launch into flights of fancy in these meetings. She thought she had curbed her tendency to rant long ago and couldn’t understand why it was rearing it’s ugly head today. If that had been Robert Queen would she have done the same thing or was Oliver Queen unsettling her? Neither reason was acceptable to her.

“How about I read this overnight Felicity and we discuss this at lunch tomorrow. What do you say to a business lunch on Queen Consolidated?” 

“I could work with that,” Felicity responded, opening her calendar. She was a big fan of lunch meetings. One got the proper nourishment and could tick off a task at the same time. It really was the most efficient way to take a lunch break. “I have a block free from twelve to two. I will get Gerry to contact your assistant to line up a meeting if you like.”

“No need Felicity I am free to meet up with you anytime,” he responded. Seeing her puzzled look he added, “This is the only project I am running for QC. Verdant is run by my best friend and I only need to make an appearance at night.”

“That is perfect!” she beamed at him happily. “You have no idea how well that suits me! My schedule is insane and one of my main concerns was that Mr. Queen senior and I would be playing phone tag for much of the time.”

“I’m glad you’re starting to see some positives in working with me already Felicity.” He got up carefully holding onto the proposal she had given him as she walked him to the door. 

She reached out and offered her hand, flashing him a winning smile. Perhaps this was not going to be as painful as she had envisaged. Despite a few inappropriate flirty comments he was not altogether unpleasant. After all this was Oliver Queen and things could have been so much worse. “It was lovely meeting you Mr. Queen.”

She shook his hand briskly. Felicity prided herself in having a solid handshake. There was nothing worse than what she called a “deadfish” handshake.

“It was an absolute pleasure meeting you Felicity.” His hand lingered on hers for what seemed like an eternity before he let go.

***

Oliver walked out of the meeting perplexed and amused, not quite sure what had just taken place. Having successfully launched Verdant for almost two years now he longed for bigger challenge. Verdant was running smoothly, thanks to Tommy’s superior organizational skills and now Oliver longed for a change. He had initially set his sights on opening a chain of clubs, launching one in Central City and then Coastal City however after much pleading and nagging from his mother he had relented and agreed to undertake a project with his father. If he threw himself into it one hundred percent and in the end still decided he did not want to take on a management role in QC, his parents would unequivocally support him in his nightclub endeavors and there would be no more lecturing, cajoling or nagging for him to join the family business. 

Over one of their family dinners Robert Queen had told him that he was to work with Felicity Smoak, Vice President of Palmer Technologies on a joint project. The way his father talked about her, the manner in which Robert Queen had decided to dump Oliver on her to “learn from Felicity’s brilliant and experienced mind” had lead Oliver to expect that he was to work with some middle aged, high flying executive who probably had two kids and a nanny on the side. 

Instead he had been confronted with the vision that was Felicity Smoak with her dark rimmed glasses, severe blonde pony tail, bright pink lips, figure hugging aqua dress and the most delicious looking ass and pair of legs he had ever seen. Then she had to go and be all serious and business like while occasionally getting starry eyed whenever she talked about that damn lab. Girls usually got starry eyed over him. It was not a feeling that Oliver was used to and it rankled on his soul. Who was Felicity Smoak and why did he have no effect on her? Oliver was used to women falling at his feet. Even his ex fiancé Laurel who was cool as a cucumber was not impervious to his charms, something he had exploited many times to get into her good graces whenever he had been caught straying. 

He recalled his attempts to flirt with Felicity that had garnered nothing more than a mild look of irritation or a blank stare. It wasn’t as if Felicity was a cold person. In fact if she were he would have taken it less personally. He had witnessed her mirth and excitement firsthand whenever she talked about the damn lab or whenever she sensed something was advantageous to the project. Yet she was completely unaffected by him. He was not going to even get into the way she called him “Mr Queen.” Nope, he decided he had to do some research on Felicity Smoak. After all if he was going to work with her it was only prudent to find out as much about one’s business partner as possible. He reached for his phone and dialed Thea’s number.

“You thought Felicity Smoak was a middle aged woman with two kids?” Thea shook her head incredulously for the hundredth time as she and Oliver pored over his laptop. “Seriously? You’ve never heard of her?”

“No Thea and if I did would I be here googling her right now with you?” Oliver rolled his eyes at his younger sister. He was starting to regret his decision to enlist her help. Perhaps Tommy would have been a better option, he would have given Oliver less grief than Thea. Actually no Tommy would have assumed that Oliver was on a mission to get Felicity into his bed and he would be just as bad as Thea. Thea at least was an oracle when it came to Star City gossip. 

“You’re lucky I’m home right now to help you with your trivial girl problems Ollie.” Thea was doing a summer internship for Walter Steele, one of Robert Queen’s best friends and had been given a few days leave to spend time with family. 

“Not a girl problem Thea. I’m merely digging up information on my business partner. See what I’m dealing with.”

“Whatever Ollie,” Thea rolled her eyes at him. “What do you want to know exactly? She’s a programming genius who graduated from MIT at 19, moved to Star City and took up a graduate position at Palmer Tech at 20, meteoric rise to VP at 26, has been known to dabble in hardware which is not her specialty. Hate to say it Ollie but I don’t think she’s the girl for you. What would you even talk about? You used to complain that Laurel was too serious for you, that’s why you ended the engagement. This girl is an out of the stratosphere genius. I don’t think she’s your type Ollie.”

He was about to grumble at Thea when she let out a squeal. “OMG Ollie you have to check this out! She was featured in an article in Vogue about Young Executives Under 30. Now I understand your sudden interest in her.” Thea turned the screen towards him and there was a picture of Felicity Smoak, posing lazily in bed, wearing nothing but a fluffy pale pink sweater and pink panties, gazing seductively at the camera, her hair tumbling over her shoulders in a cascade of messy waves. Oliver felt his breath hitch as he stared at the picture. He could barely contain his yelp of protest when Thea pulled the screen away and began typing furiously.

“It says here Ollie, that she is rumored to be involved with Ray Palmer, CEO of Palmer Tech. But I can’t find anything to prove this, just a bunch of reports from trashy publications and a few pictures of them looking friendly.”

“Isn’t Palmer married?” Oliver asked, vaguely recalling attending some function years ago where Palmer’s date had been a pretty brunette that had been introduced as his wife. Oliver had been smashed that night and all he could recall was being horrified that Palmer was a sucker who had decided to shack up with a wife whilst still in his 20s. 

“Widowed, his wife died when she was just 32 the poor thing. The gossip columns are hell-bent on declaring that Felicity will be the new Mrs. Palmer. All I see are a few pictures of them at a park together.” Thea clicked around for a few seconds. “Oooh this one is s bit dodgy. Look at the way they are staring at each other. Do you think it’s dodgy?”

Oliver could not help but analyze the picture, obviously taken a few years ago. Felicity looked like she was practically a baby in it and she was staring at Palmer with a star struck look in her eyes. He suddenly felt uncomfortable. As if he were invading the privacy and innermost thoughts of a woman he had just met. He leaned over and gave Thea a quick hug. “Thanks Little Sis. You are always a master at digging up gossip.”

“Looks like you got more than you bargained for on this project Ollie! And all that whining you did to me because you thought this was going to be a boring project.”

“Oh it’s going to be interesting alright,” he responded thinking of a certain bubbly but cool blue eyed blonde.

***

“I’ve been expecting you to storm into my office all day now and nothing has happened. So are you just punishing me by playing with my mind or are you so white hot angry you can’t even bear to come in and yell at me?” Ray shuffled nervously outside her office door. Felicity let out a giggle at his words and beckoned him to come in. She had sent Gerry home, as was her usual custom when she worked late. She always made sure to send all her team home at five on the dot if there was nothing urgent she needed from them. She often liked to stay back a bit herself and she didn’t want anyone to feel that they were stuck in the office because of her work habits.

“I won’t lie Ray, I was quite shocked at first. No let me correct that. I was HORRIFIED at first when he walked in. But he was alright. He seems pleasant enough and if he’s willing to let me lead this will actually benefit Palmer Tech so on the whole I’d say things could have gone much worse.” She smiled as she saw relief wash over Ray’s face.

“I swear Felicity I didn’t know until ten minutes before your meeting when Robert Queen called me. Then I got dragged into another meeting myself and couldn’t warn you or even tell my assistant to warn you. I’ve been waiting all day for you to storm in and yell at me,” Ray smiled nervously, looking like a puppy that had just chewed up his owner’s new slippers.

Felicity smiled affectionately at him. “You know it never occurred to me to yell at you. This has Dennis written all over it. I know he’s golf buddies with Robert Queen. You know what pisses me off though now that I think about it? The fact that Robert Queen called to tell YOU that his son was taking over instead of ringing me directly. Absolutely NO respect for me whatsoever.” She gripped onto her pen tightly, her knuckles turning white. She took a few deep breaths and sighed. “I was tempted to go in and lambast Dennis about this but what good would it do. They’d probably accuse me of being an emotionally unstable woman. God knows I get so much grief for being young already. So I’ve just got to roll with the punches.” 

“You know you have my utmost support right Felicity?” Ray smiled fondly at her as he reached over to give her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.

“Yup I know,” she smiled back at him. “I’m going to head off and call it a night I think. It’s been an interesting day. I’ve got a meeting with Queen tomorrow so hopefully that will go smoothly and we can meet with Starling National Bank next.” Ray watched her quietly, making no move to leave. She reached for her briefcase and pushed out her chair, her movements quick. She knew what was coming next and wanted to avoid it today if she could. 

“Felicity did you want to grab some dinner?” Ray asked hopefully. “We can go to that sushi place you love? Masuya?”

“I’m really tired Ray, it’s been a long day. Maybe next time,” she smiled a small sad smile at him, both of them knowing that her answer would be the same the next time.

“You always say that but we never hang out anymore Felicity. We used to go to dinner all the time. I…….I miss it. I miss how things used to be. I don’t understand what changed,” he spoke quietly, always the calm, understanding gentleman. Felicity felt like fleeing at once. If she kept standing there watching the hurt and confused look on his face she felt like she would burst into tears any minute. 

“I have to go,” she called out as she bolted for the lifts. “It’s just been really crazy this week. Good night Ray. Take care of yourself.” She dashed into the lift as soon as the doors opened, pushing down continuously on the “Close” button, tears welling up in her eyes as she recalled Ray’s hurt expression as he watched her run.


	2. Beautiful As You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Oliver help each other out

Oliver found himself and Tommy stuck in a traffic jam as they headed back to Verdant to meet with the health inspector. David Clark was a fastidious and grumpy man who did not like to be kept waiting. It felt like they were moving three feet every five minutes as Oliver tapped impatiently on the steering wheel of his steel grey Maserati. 

“We’re going to run late Ollie. I swear to god Clark is going to fail us if we keep him waiting. He hates our guts as it is,” Tommy lamented, shuffling around impatiently on the passenger side. 

Oliver grunted in frustration and stared at his surroundings helplessly. As far as the eye could see, the traffic was bumper to bumper. It was then that he spotted her exiting a gym on the main street. She was wearing nothing but a pair of black yoga pants, which left little to the imagination as to how voluptuous and perfect her arse was and a pink exercise crop top that showed off her pancake flat stomach. Her hair which was always pulled back in a severe ponytail every time he had seen her was done up in two loose braids and she was sans glasses. Oliver could not take his eyes off her as she strolled casually alongside the traffic jam, swinging her gym bag over one shoulder. 

Cars behind him started beeping and he absentmindedly stepped on the gas, eyes still on Felicity. Suddenly there was a GUNCH. The distinct sound of metal colliding as he lurched forward with a bump.

“Oliver man! What the hell!” Tommy shouted but it was too late. He had rear ended the sedan in front of him. There was now a massive imprint where his Maserati had slammed into the other vehicle. Behind him cars beep angrily as the driver in front changed lanes to reach the side lane before pulling over. Oliver knew he had to do the same. There was no way they were going to make it back to Verdant. Clark was going to fail them for sure. 

He managed to cross two lanes, pull over when suddenly a faint smell of citrus blossoms hit his nose. He could recognize that smell anywhere having been near it almost every day over the past few weeks. He looked up to see Felicity gazing at him, her beautiful blue eyes, round as saucers looking concerned. 

“Are you alight Oliver? I walked out of the gym and suddenly I heard all this beeping and commotion so I came over to sticky beak before I realized it was you.” 

“He just rear ended someone,” Tommy piped up sounding annoyed. “We’re screwed now I tell you! Screwed!”

“We have a meeting with the health inspector for Verdant in twenty minutes and he hates us. There is no way we’re making it back so it looks like a fail,” Oliver explained, seeing the look of confusion on Felicity’s face.

“I can get one of you back to Verdant,” she responded immediately. “My car’s parked two blocks from here, past all this traffic. If we run to my car, I can get one of you back to Verdant in ten minutes tops.”

“I’ll go with you,” Oliver said at once, ignoring the amused smirk on Tommy’s face. “Tommy will stay here and handle the accident.”

“Look here you can’t just flee from the scene,” the middle aged male driver of the sedan protested. He had not been able to get a word in edgewise.

“Sir, my friend here will sort you out. Tommy just sort it out man and I’ll pay you back,” Oliver said hurriedly, before grabbing Felicity’s hand. “Come on lets go! Lead me to your car!”

Together they bolted down the street, leaving the indignant sedan owner and an amused Tommy behind. 

***

“So how did you end up rear ending someone?” Felicity asked as she pulled her Porsche into a parking spot outside Verdant. Oliver breathed a sigh of relief, as he couldn’t sport Clark’s car anywhere. There was a God after all. 

“I was distracted,” he replied, feeling his cheeks flush as he tried to look away from her. She was a mere foot from him, still smelling of grapefruit zest, her golden braids making her look unfairly adorable.

She dropped the subject matter and started rummaging in her gym bag. 

“What are you doing?” he asked, as she pulled out various items of clothing. 

“Helping you,” she responded, pulling a dress over her head and torso. She reached under her dress and wiggled out of her yoga pants. He could feel his face burning as he turned away, willing himself to get a grip as out of the corner of his eye, he could see her trying to shrug off the crop top under her dress. His pants suddenly felt tight, way too tight as he shifted around nervously trying to resist the urge to peek at her. He really needed to get a grip. He had done things, filthy things with models, supermodels, actresses and a bevy of generally beautiful women. There was no reason to lose his sh#t around one stuffy Felicity Smoak. Although she had just gotten undressed next to him in the front seat of her car so maybe she wasn’t as prissy as she seemed. Felicity Smoak with her soft gold spun hair, pink lips and enigmatic smile. The smiles had been few and far between when they had first started working together but in recent weeks he had been receiving the full dosage of the Felicity Smoak smile and it was beginning to get to him. 

“All good,” she beamed at him as she readjusted her dress.

He stared at her blankly, unable to form proper words. Finally he blurted out “How is undressing in the Verdant Car Park helping me?”

“I used to work in a diner, a zillion years ago in Vegas for extra spending money. Never met a health inspector who didn’t like me. Thank goodness I brought a change of clothes. Would have been harder to make a good impression in the gym clothes. Sorry if I offended your delicate sensibilities by undressing next to you. I would have asked to use the bathroom but I was under the impression we were short on time.” As she finished speaking a car pulled up to the Verdant parking lot, Clark had arrived.

Oliver jumped out to greet him. “Mr Clark, how nice to see you. Come inside, can I offer you a beverage?”

Clark shot him a sour look before spotting Felicity, the sour look dissipating from his face at once. Felicity beamed at the pale and wiry little man and held out her hand. “Mr Clark, I’m Felicity Smoak, Oliver’s friend. He was so nervous about your inspection today, the poor thing so I came over for moral support as Tommy has been held back due to an emergency. I do hope you don’t mind my presence. I used to greet our local health inspector when I waited tables a long time ago. This sure brings back memories of my time in the hospitality industry.” 

“Noooo not at all,” Clark twinkled at her kindly. “Let’s go inside and begin the inspection shall we?” 

***

“He signed off!!!! I can’t believe he signed off just like that! He normally picks at this and that for hours and hours and then makes us address a list of issues he raises in writing before signing off.” 

Oliver could not believe his luck. Five minutes into the inspection Felicity had Clark eating out of her hand and after thirty minutes Clark had signed off without any conditions before driving off and declaring he hoped Felicity would be present at the next inspection. “I owe you. I owe you big for this! What do you want?”

“It’s no big deal Oliver. Think of it as my attempt to generate good will between us for the rest of the project. Construction begins next week and I’ve no doubt I’m going to blow up at you and yell when the stress gets to me. So the next time I bite your head off for no good reason think of this,” she smiled.

“How about dinner? Tonight? You and I? Not as in like a date or anything. Just a thank you dinner.” Oliver cursed himself as he stumbled through the words.

“I’m having dinner with friends tonight but I’ll take a rain check if you don’t mind. There is this new buffet I want to try and no one I know would willingly go to a buffet with me.” She wrinkled her nose in the most adorable manner as a slightly indignant look crossed her face. “I better head off now, I’ll be late. See you tomorrow at the site inspection?”

“Yup,” he responded, trying to contain his irrational disappointment at her leaving. “Thanks again for all your help Felicity. You really saved us.”

“No worries, glad I could help. You looked like you were having a rough afternoon. I’ve been there myself,” she smiled a sweet smile at him. A warm feeling spread inside the pit of his stomach as he recalled the forced smiles she mustered up during their first few weeks together on the project. He watched as she waved happily at him and pulled out of the Verdant car park. 

***

“Why do you insist on wearing those ridiculous heels even though we’re at a construction site,” Oliver asked as he eyed her three-inch heels with disapproval.

“When you are my size and only yay big, you wear heels with everything or else you look like a dumpling,” she responded. “I’ll have you know that I can and have sprinted three blocks in these heels so no criticizing me Mr. Queen until you see me topple over.”

“It’s been a while since you’ve called me that,” he mused with a smile.

“Called you what?”

“Mr. Queen. I remember when we first met it was Mr. Queen this, Mr. Queen that, Mr. Queen junior,” he teased. She responded by swatting his arm playfully as they stepped around the empty construction site, surveying it one more time before work was due to commence the following week, a formality requested by Starling National Bank.

“I was trying to grit my teeth and get over my disappointment and fury at your father for replacing himself on the project without telling me.”

“And are you still disappointed now?” he asked, inching closer towards her, a playful smile on his lips. Her stomach fluttered a little at the sight of the smile, although she quickly quashed the feeling, telling herself that he smiled at all the girls like that. But there was no reason why she couldn’t relish in a handsome smile from a handsome man. 

“I was never really mad at you Oliver. I was more upset that Dennis pulled a fast one on me and that your father apparently has no respect for me. Plus you have to admit you do have quite the reputation. I was worried you were going to show up drunk to meetings with the bank or something. My nerves were shot!” She looked a little sheepish. 

Seeing his face fall a bit she punched his arm lightly and continued, “I think it all worked out for the best. You’re not a bad egg. I could have kissed you the way you handled that first joint press conference we did. You have your strengths Mr. Queen.” She winced internally. That came out a lot more breathy and flirty than she had intended.

“Kiss me eh,” he teased, tilting his head a little so that his face was aligned with hers. 

She gulped and took two steps back, then turned abruptly and proceeded to walk forward, completely missing the grate that was in front of her. Her heel lodged into the grate as she tried to step forward, her foot twisted and a jolt of pain shot through her ankle as she found herself losing balance. 

He was at her side in an instant, propping her up just in time before she hit the ground. “How badly does that hurt? I just saw you pull a face. Lets get you to the ER.”

“I’m not going to the ER for a twisted ankle. There are other people with life and death injuries who’ll curse me if I go.”

“Can you put any weight on it?”

Felicity held onto his shoulder and tried gingerly to put her weight on the injured ankle. A burst of pain shot through and she found herself losing her balance as he gripped her waist to prevent her from falling. 

“Felicity you should make sure it’s not more than a sprained ankle. You could do some serious damage if it’s something more sinister.” 

“If you can drive me back to Palmer Tech I’ll have Caitlyn give me a once over,” Seeing his questioning look she clarified further. “Caitlyn Snow is one of our leading scientists but her specialty is medicine. She’ll be able to diagnose the ankle and tell me if I need to go to hospital.”

Without another word he swooped her up in his arms and carried her bridal style towards the exit. 

“Wait, what are you doing?” she protested. I can hop along on my good foot and we still have to look at the rest of the site.” 

“Felicity you cannot hop around the building on one sky high heel and this this is an old building with goodness knows what on the ground so you’re not hopping around without shoes either. Now if you insist that we do a complete once over which we both know is just a formality I will carry you around the building.”

“Why don’t you just put me down here and I’ll wait for you to finish looking around?” Felicity suggested. It was a strange feeling being in his arms. A little too close for comfort. She could feel her face flushing.

“Felicity I’m not leaving you in an old building by yourself with an injured ankle. Either I carry you around or we go back to Palmer Tech to have your ankle checked out.” His tone was firm and final.

“It’s your arms that are going to ache if you want to carry a sack of potatoes around,” she muttered.

“A very attractive sack of potatoes,” he answered, his voice low. Felicity felt her cheeks heat up as she tried to avoid eye contact with him, knowing that her cheeks were most likely bright red right now.

***

“Just say it,” she said as Oliver carried her through the foyer at Palmer Tech earning stares from everyone they passed. “I know you’re thinking it right now!”

“Say what?” he asked with a smirk. “What could I be possibly be thinking, carrying a gorgeous woman in my arms?”

“Say I told you so about my shoes. You predicted my shoes would do me in and you are right.” She purposely ignored his comment about her being gorgeous. He really was a shameless flirt. 

“I’m not going to rub it in Felicity. I’ve enjoyed carting you around all afternoon,” he teased, doing a small spin as they headed into the lift, which was thankfully empty.

“Oh my goodness don’t do that! You’ll drop me! Put me down I can hop now the floors here are very clean.”

“Are you saying I’m not strong enough Ms Smoak,” he drawled as the lift dinged open. He proceeded to exit the lift and spin her around some more, chuckling at her annoyed protests.

“Oliver!!!!” she lectured half heartedly, trying to suppress her giggles. “Put me down now before someone sees us. Stop spinning I’m getting dizzy.”

Someone did see them. They were not five feet from the lift before they ran into Ray. Felicity could feel all the blood drain out of her face as Ray stared at them with an expression that was part surprise and part annoyance.

“Felicity what happened? Are you hurt? What’s wrong? What is this?” Ray gestured to where Oliver stood with her still perched in his arms.

“Felicity had a minor accident at the warehouse and hurt her ankle. She told me to take her to Caitlyn Snow who she says will put her right,” Oliver responded calmly but there was a tense note in his voice. 

“Thank you for taking care of her Oliver. I can take it from here.” Ray extended his arms, waiting for Oliver to deposit her in them.

“NO,” Felicity yelped, causing both men to stare at her in surprise. “It’s ok Ray, Oliver’s got this haven’t you Oliver? You know what the tabloids are like Ray. The last thing we want is a picture of you holding me inside Palmer Tech. What if we run into Dennis! He’s been making snide comments about us for years. Noooooo best if you don’t……..don’t pick me up! It’s all-good. You know what I can hop! I’ll get down and hop to Caitlyn’s office right now.” She made a feeble attempt to escape from Oliver’s arms but he held her firmly.

“Just stay put Felicity. You go and get that checked out. I’ll just head off to my next meeting now. Thank you for helping her Oliver.” Ray gave them a curt nod and went on his way. Felicity couldn’t help but stare after him in dismay. 

“What was that about?” Oliver’s voice pulled her away from her thoughts. “What is with you and Palmer?”

“Nothing,” she replied in a small voice. “It’s nothing.”

“It didn’t look like nothing. You’re as white as a sheet and Palmer looks like someone kicked him in the guts. What’s the deal with you two?”

“Nothing. There is nothing wrong with us. You’ve been reading too many tabloids Oliver.” She stared straight ahead, avoiding his questioning gaze. 

“Are you in love with Palmer? Is he in love with you?” he pressed on, completely unwilling to drop the subject. 

“Nnnnno! Why would you even think that? We’re old friends.”

“Then what’s with the tragic looks? You’re single, he’s single. Why do you look at him like he’s forbidden fruit and why does he look at you like you’ve broken his heart?”

“Oliver if we’re going to be friends can you please just drop this?” she pleaded, a hint of desperation creeping into her voice. 

“Sorry I didn’t mean to upset you Felicity. It’s none of my business anyway. I just don’t like seeing you of all people look so sad.” He held onto her a bit tighter and they made their way to Caitlyn’s office in silence. 

***

Oliver made his way around the club, nodding and raising his glass as part of his nightly ritual while doing his rounds. Truth be told Verdant was the last place he wanted to be tonight after the day he had had. It hadn’t been a completely awful day he mused as he recalled the feeling of holding a soft and warm, smiling Felicity in his arms. But it had all come crashing down when it was evidently clear that she was in love with someone else. The way she and Palmer had stared at each other told him everything he needed to know.

It was just a crush he told himself, this fascination he was developing with Felicity. It’s not like he was in love with the girl. They had only known each other for a few weeks. After all she was intelligent, attractive and funny. Different from any girl he had ever met. What was there not to like? She could be hard as nails when it came to a business negotiation, analytical, organized and sharp. Then sometimes he’d catch a glimpse of this lost vulnerable look in her eyes that made him want to hold her forever and protect her from all the ills of the world.

Good lord what was he thinking………..this was a bad case of…………..something. He shook his head and surveyed the patrons of the club. Two cute brunettes in barely there outfits were flashing him unmistakable come-hither looks. He briefly wondered if he should take one or both of them home to get Felicity Smoak out of his system. After all it had been a while. His intrigue with Felicity was likely due to his recent self-imposed dry spell. 

He raised his glass and made his way towards them but his heart wasn’t in it. Midway he found himself diverting and he headed towards his office at Verdant. He took out his phone and began to compose a text.

O: Just wanted to make sure my fav business partner was ok? How are you holding up?

F: You fav business partner? I’m going to tell Tommy! Thank you for asking all good!

O: You taking it easy?

F: Yes, curled up on couch with mint chip ice cream and howling to Miss Saigon.

O: Miss Saigon?

F: Musical. Very tragic. Helps me on rough days

O: Hope you feel better soon

F: Will live! Just need to hop around in flats for next week. DO NOT MOCK ME ABOUT THE HEELS

O: I did not say/type anything

F: I can hear you think it!

O: Sweet Dreams Felicity

F: Night Oliver. Thank you carting me around today. May your muscles be even more impressive from all the exercise

O: You think my muscles are impressive?

F: Not going there with you! Good Night Oliver xxox


	3. End of the Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver is a good friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Guys!
> 
> What a miserable week in Fandom! I am really struggling with my fics in lieu of what is happening on the show but I will soldier on for now!
> 
> Need a favour from you guys. For those of you reading this fic can you tell me if you want a happy ending or if you want to end it in a blaze of glory (as in full on tragic). Because I have worked out the plot and I can go either way! I'd rather do something that you guys would enjoy though so tell me what ending you would like.

“Felicity am I seeing things or are there pandas on your shoes?” They were minutes away from a press conference to launch the commencement of construction of PQ Labs. 

“So what of it?” Felicity responded, absentmindedly munching on a giant bowl of popcorn while perched on a chair, wearing a form fitting dusty pink dress with a giant bow around the neckline. Outlandish outfits always made her feel a bit more confident before tackling these press conferences. She had come a long way from the nervous, socially awkward nineteen year who graduated from MIT, however press conferences were not her favorite events. The only silver lining was that she got to rock a pretty dress that most of Star City would see.

“How’s your ankle?” Oliver asked, momentarily disrupting her from her steady shoveling of popcorn. It was the only thing she could find that wasn’t greasy or messy and would ruin her clothes. 

“Getting there, no heels for a month hence the flats.”

“Felicity are you ok? Maybe you should go easy on the popcorn, we’re due out in three minutes.”

“I stress eat,” she replied. “You’d think I’d be used to these after my stint as VP! Why do you always handle these press conferences so well? Look at you! Cool as a cucumber!”

“Well I’m answering questions about my involvement in a project with a brilliant woman. Normally I have the paparazzi chasing me as I sneak out of some woman’s apartment whose name I don’t remember. So I’d say this is a big step up for me.”

“Gawd you don’t think they’re going to ask us if we’re dating do you?” Felicity pulled a face and shuddered. Noting the offended look on Oliver’s face, she quickly jumped in to defend her reaction. “Oh don’t look so offended Oliver! I didn’t mean it that way. You’re not my type but I wouldn’t be horrified at the prospect of dating you. What I mean was............”

“Keep digging Felicity,” Oliver deadpanned, his gaze fixed on her.

She patted his arm breezily and continued to explain. “What I meant was I have been linked with Ray for the last three years. Every project without fail we were asked if we’re dating. Don’t get me started on the paparazzi shots of us in those trashy magazines. And now I’m working with you and all of your Oliver Queen-ness,” she hesitated and waved an arm in his general direction. “I can’t see the press refraining from writing a story on this.” 

She paused for a moment before letting out a peal of laughter. “I really need to get myself on a project with Dr Harrison Wells next! Wonder if they could put a romantic spin on THAT too!”

Seeing that he still looked somewhat mildly offended, she held out her hand and beamed at him. “Oh Oliver, don’t look so offended! I am only saying this because I worry being linked to me will drastically reduce your game with the ladies. And we both know you love the ladies.” She waggled her eyebrows at him, eliciting a reluctant smile. 

“The ladies take whatever they can get whether I’m officially attached or not,” he responded smoothly. 

“Really? For real?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Eww!” 

“Are you done offending me yet?”

“Meh looks like I’m not getting out of this hole I’ve dug today. Do help a girl out and pull me up Oliver. It’s time isn’t it?” Suppressing a smile he held out a hand and hoisted her up from the seat. She squared her shoulders back and gave her head a quick shake with the air of one preparing for battle. 

***

Smoak and Mirrors

Felicity Smoak, our favourite nerdy Programming Princess has done it again. Not only has she been dangling billionaire widower Dr. Ray Palmer for three years it now appears that billionaire playboy Oliver Queen is also not immune to the brainy blonde bombshell’s charms if the following set of photographs from their most recent press conference is anything to go by.

The photos feature a series of shots of the notorious playboy gazing at Ms Smoak with what can only be construed as heart eyes while she enthusiastically answered questions about their joint project.

Could there be another project in the works, a more romantic union perhaps? Confidential sources reported that Oliver Queen and the perky brainiac seemed awfully close behind the scenes, sharing snacks and indulging in a bit of good-natured teasing which saw Ms Smoak playfully ruffling the cool playboy’s hair while he smiled at her indulgently. This coupled with pictures of Oliver carrying Ms Smoak into the Palmer Tech building last week builds an awfully compelling case for this budding romance. 

I wonder what a certain handsome Dr Ray Palmer thinks about the situation, seeing his rumored ladylove succumbing to the wily Oliver Queen. Check out our latest pictures of this genetically blessed trio and tell us who you support in the Queen – Smoak – Palmer triangle. 

***

“Ollie man! Explain to me why we are at the Palmer Tech launch party and why you can’t bring a normal date, you know as in a WOMAN like a normal person?” Tommy whined as they glanced around the party awkwardly looking like a pair of fish out of water. They had been to many of these things before at Merlyn Global and Queen Consolidated however always under completely different circumstances, namely they usually attended these things whilst half drunk or stoned or sometimes both and usually accompanied by a hot lingerie model each.

In contrast tonight they were both tragically sober with only each other as dates, not a lingerie model or any kind of model in sight and they were here to stalk an unsuspecting Felicity Smoak. Not that Oliver would ever admit that he had dragged Tommy here just to catch a glimpse of Felicity. Truth be told he had no idea why he was here. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, to agree to attend when Felicity had invited him, smiling that sunny smile of hers. Now he was standing here awkwardly with a whining Tommy making digs about his crush on her. Not that he had a crush on Felicity. Nooooo, he was Ollie Queen, he did not have a crush on women, any woman.

“We have a club to run or did you forget,” Tommy’s voice disrupted his thoughts. 

“The club wouldn’t be open if it weren’t for her help last week,” he snapped at his friend. “We are here to show our support for their new Smart Wearables Range,” he added lamely.

“Ollie if you just admit that you are here because Felicity Smoak has got you by the balls I wouldn’t give you such a hard time,” Tommy snickered. 

“Shut up Tommy,” Oliver warned through gritted teeth as a tiny blond vision sailed over towards them. She was a sight to behold in a bright tight fitting magenta gown with a plunging neckline, her golden hair was simply pulled back into a sleek bun. He wondered how she managed to look like she could cause the fall of an empire but also like an innocent angel at the same time.

“Gentleman you’ve made an appearance,” she beamed at them. “Where are your dates?” 

“I…….ugh……umm…….he’s my date,” Oliver gestured awkwardly towards Tommy, wishing the ground would swallow him. He was going to hear about this from Tommy for the next month, no scratch that for the next year.

Tommy shot him an incredulous look as if to say, “What the hell is wrong with you man?” To his credit Tommy was not Oliver’s best friend without good reason. He recovered quickly from his horror at Oliver’s fumbling and smoothly said, “I convinced Ollie to take me as his plus one to thank you personally for handling the situation with David Clark. We owe you one Felicity.” 

An amused looked flickered across Felicity’s face. “Don’t mention it! I appreciate you gentleman taking time from Verdant to attend our launch. I think there’s double the amount of press here tonight which can probably be attributed to you two! Now if only that will translate into sales.” She rubbed her hands together gleefully. 

“Speaking of Verdant, I’m going to check out your open bar and see if there are any drink ideas I can steal for our brainchild. Nice seeing you again Felicity, you look gorgeous.” He kissed Felicity’s hand and made a seamless beeline towards the bar, leaving a bewildered Oliver staring after him. 

“Are you alright Oliver?” Felicity asked, tilting her head slightly to scrutinize his peculiar frozen state.

Oliver gave himself the equivalent of a mental slap on the face. Get a grip he thought. This situation with Felicity was really beyond ridiculous. He was clearly having some sort of mental break. He really needed to deal with this silly crush once and for all. He wondered if this was some sort of retribution the universe was heaping on him. For years he had, had this effect on girls and had never once known what it was like to be on the opposite end of the scale. Maybe the universe was merely using Felicity Smoak to unhinge him. Well he would prove once and for all he was not Ollie Queen for nothing. 

“I’m alright now that you’re here,” he responded smoothly, flashing her a dazzling smile. She was not the only one who could spellbind with her twinkling blue eyes and cute little dimples. “You’re gorgeous tonight Felicity. Brains and beauty, you’re too much for us mere mortals.”

She let out a giggled and punched him lightly on the arm. “Good to see you’re back to your incorrigible flirty self. Come on, dance with me!” She dragged him out to the dance floor. He hated dancing but was powerless to say anything in her presence. Besides he thought, the more time he spent with her the more likely this…whatever this condition he had with her would resolve itself. 

***

Felicity found herself humming along to the song as she swayed in Oliver Queen’s arms. This was probably not the best thing to do given the internet rumors and numerous articles that had been released this week. But she really needed a distraction from her real life and Oliver Queen was as uncomplicated and distracting as they come. She ignored the warning signals in her head and allowed herself to indulge in his admiration and company. 

Oliver was a shameless flirt however there was something uncomplicated about him that she enjoyed. She knew he was attracted to her and that he probably just wanted to get her into bed. Normally this very thought would fill her with scorn but she found herself wanting to flirt back and encourage him if only to escape the dreary reality that was her life. She guessed that things would be brief and fun with Oliver and that was what she craved right now. She did not want any complications or promises of commitment. Commitment was something she had no desire for.

She looked up and shot him a lazy smile, still humming the song under her breath. He responded by clutching her a bit tighter. A stormy looking Ray suddenly appeared next to them and broke her reverie.

“May I cut in?” he asked tersely. “I have barely seen you all night Felicity. Would you kindly spare me one dance?”

“Sure, I should really find Tommy anyway. See that he’s not up to mischief. Usually can’t take that one anywhere.” Oliver’s tone was light as he wore a neutral expression on his face. The neutral look did not fool Felicity one bit. She knew that despite his nonchalant expression, he was full of questions about her relationship with Ray or lack thereof. Dammit was there anyone in the world who didn’t want to define her relationship with Ray. 

“Thanks for the dance Oliver,” she smiled back serenely and let herself be led away by Ray.

***

Oliver, having found Tommy and sent him home, found himself wondering outside the vast balcony of the ballroom. He really should have just gone home with Tommy. He couldn’t fathom why he was still here. Pacing. Agitated. He had received more than encouraging signs from no less than seven beautiful women at the party but here he was wondering around aimlessly behind some giant pot plants on a lonely balcony like a loser. The evening had seemed much bleaker since Felicity waltzed off with Palmer. It was almost as if she took the light and color away with her whenever she went away and the world seemed so much more grey without her company. God, what was wrong with him. He really was losing his marbles. He needed to shut down this ridiculous obsession once and for all. He was finally falling victim to a schoolboy crush for the first time in is life. He just had to shake it off. He took a determined stride to leave the party and head to Verdant when two figures emerged onto the balcony, engrossed in conversation, oblivious to their surroundings. Oliver considered making a break for it but they were having an impassioned discussion, blocking the only exit from the balcony.

***

“Ray please just let it go,” Felicity pleaded, her voice wavering.

“Not until you give me a good reason why there can’t be an us?” Ray demanded, his arms on her shoulders, giving them a gentle but frustrated squeeze. “I want you, I’ve wanted you all these years. God I don’t even know why I keep doing this. I must be the biggest fool in the world.”

“We work together, the bad publicity this would generate,” she offered helplessly. 

“That’s bullsh@t Felicity and you know it. We had something three years ago Felicity and then one day you just built all these walls around yourself and shut me out without ever telling me why.” Ray ran his hands through his hair, yanking at it in frustration.

“I just…I don’t feel that way about you anymore. I was young back then and I…” she offered lamely.

“Felicity we both know that’s a lie. I’ve seen the way you look at me, you know how I feel about you. You haven’t dated anyone for the last three years and I thought if I waited for you we would get somewhere one day. I can’t do this anymore! God Felicity if you can’t be with me like you claim you can’t then I beg you to let me know why. I need the closure so that I can move on.”

“It’s never going to happen Ray. You and I. You need to move on. I am not good for you and you need to let me go,” she whispered, trying to blink back her tears unsuccessfully as they welled up in her big blue eyes and rolled down her lovely face. 

“I love you Felicity. I have waited for you for three years and put my life on hold for you but I cannot and will not do this anymore. We could have been so great together. I would give anything to be with you but I want you to know if you let me walk out of here tonight it will be well and truly over between us.” Ray’s tone was pleading, clearly a last ditch effort to get through to her.

“I’m sorry Ray,” she whispered. “I only want you to be happy and if I thought I could make you happy I would.”

“You could Felicity, you could have been everything.” With that Ray leaned over, kissed her on the cheek and walked away. 

Felicity broke down into a series of pitiful sobs as soon as Ray was out of sight. She had wanted this. Deep down she knew she had to let him go and this was for the best but she couldn’t help feeling like a part of her had died tonight. She wasn’t aware how long she had been crying when she spotted Oliver, staring at her with a combined expression of sympathy and confusion on his face.

“You…you saw? How much did you see?” she managed to choke out. The truth was she didn’t really care anymore. She just wanted to crawl into a deep dark hole and wallow in her misery. Having Oliver Queen witness her confrontation with Ray was just the final blow to her miserable day.

“Enough…I saw enough,” he answered apologetically. “Look I’m sorry Felicity. I was taking a walk out here by myself and you guys appeared right in the thick of it. I probably should have said something but you guys were so engrossed in your conversation.”

“That’s ok. It probably doesn’t matter anyway,” she attempted a teary smile, before breaking into a series of little sobs again. “Just don’t let what you saw affect our working relationship. I need to get home. People have lived through much worse than this.” She tried her best to look brave but the tears were threatening to fall once again.

Oliver grabbed her wrist gently. “I’m not going to let you drive yourself home in this state. Besides the press vultures are circling outside. Let’s get you cleaned up and I’ll drive you home. You…you look a little worse for wear right now,” he smiled sheepishly at her.

“Are you saying I’m ugly Oliver?” Her tears had subsided and she managed a small smile at him.

“I think you’re beautiful. But you’re exceedingly fussy about the way you look so you wouldn’t forgive me if I let the press take a picture of you right now,” he responded, relieved to see her smile, no matter how small the smile was. 

“Come on, I’ll walk you to the bathroom and then I’ll take you home.” He shrugged off his jacket and placed it over her bare shoulders. “It’s getting cold and my car has no roof,” he explained.

“You’re a good friend Oliver,” she reached out, grasping his large hands with her tiny ones and gave them a squeeze. 

***

They drove back to her townhouse in a comfortable silence, which left Felicity wondering why she felt so at ease and comfortable around him. She was too tired to delve into the reasons tonight, she was just thankful for his calming presence. 

Oliver pulled over outside her Townhouse and got out to open the passenger door for her before walking her to her front step.

“I’d ask you in for tea,” she smiled ruefully. “But as you can see tonight is not my finest hour.”

“Can I come in and get you anything? I make a mean hot chocolate?” he offered, knowing this was neither the time nor the place but feeling like he didn’t want to let her go somehow. 

“You’ve done more than enough. You’ve been a wonderful friend Oliver. I can’t thank you enough for tonight.”

“Let me come in to make sure you’re settled. I’d feel much better knowing you’re tucked safely in bed.” He could hardly believe the words escaping from his mouth. This was not what Ollie Queen got up to when a girl brought him home. 

She smiled at him and motioned him inside. “I owe you for tonight so what’s one more favor.”

She ushered him into a neat and cozy, well furnished living room with cheerful bright sunny yellow walls. The butter sunshine yellow screamed of Felicity. It was also clear that she loved her plants. Various pot plants of different sizes adorned the place.

“Hot drink supplies are in the pantry over there, third shelf. There is milk in the fridge. I’ll just go and change into some comfy clothes. This dress is contributing to my misery. Make yourself comfortable.” She gave his shoulder a pat and headed down a corridor. 

***

Oliver proudly floated three mini marshmallows in each mug of hot chocolate when suddenly he heard a crash from down the corridor. He abandoned the drinks and rushed towards the source of the sound. There he was confronted with the sight of Felicity, lying unconscious on the bathroom floor.


	4. The Longest Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver finds out a few things about Felicity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Guys!
> 
> I wrote like crazy before they release the next episode and upset me! I hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> Since you all want a happy ending, happy ending it is!!!! You have my word!

Oliver downed the dredges of his fifth cup on coffee as he stared gloomily around the waiting room. It was relatively empty now at this time in the morning and he didn’t need to be so careful about keeping a low profile lest someone Instagram a picture of him looking like hell in the waiting room at Starling General. 

Being of no relation to Felicity and obviously not her emergency contact, he had been told to go home, as there was nothing they could tell him until Felicity herself woke up and agreed to see him. He had pleaded and even resorted to flirting with the nurses to no avail. The image of Felicity, lying pale and listless haunted him and he found himself unable to leave the gloomy waiting room where he had camped for the past six hours.  
He considered ringing Tommy or Thea to bring him a change of clothes but that would open the gateway to a host of questions about his intentions and Felicity’s condition, which he was sure she did not want anyone to know. He desperately needed her to wake up, needed to know that she was all right and that she would be back to being the vivacious, passionate Felicity that he knew.

He had no idea how long he had dozed off when he felt a firm nudge on his shoulder. 

“She’s awake. We told her you’ve been here all night and she’s requested to see you,” the kindly looking nurse informed him. 

“Thank you,” he breathed in relief as she led him to Felicity’s room.

***

“Hey,” Oliver whispered almost shyly as he entered the room. She looked so tiny and frail on the hospital bed, her small frame being propped up by three large pillows. Despite the fact that her face was deathly pale and her hair was a mass of frizzy waves she was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. She looked so delicate and vulnerable, some part of him that he did not even know existed wanted to whisk her up and take her away to keep her safe forever.

He pulled a chair next to the bed and shuffled awkwardly. Suddenly he felt tongue-tied. He didn’t know why he was here. He really just wanted to lean over and engulf her into a big hug but it didn’t seem like he had the right somehow. His being here to witness all this felt like he had crossed a boundary in their friendship that she probably wasn’t ready for him to cross.

“You ok?” he asked quietly, desperately resisting the urge to reach out and touch her.

“I live to fight another day,” she smiled at him. “Thanks for being there yesterday and thanks for…for all this.”

“Do you need anything? You want me to call anyone? Your parents? Ray?”

“NO! NONONO Definitely not my mother or Ray.” Felicity bolted up from her pillows looking panicked. “You can’t tell anyone about this Oliver, especially not Ray. Please.”

“No of course not. I haven’t seen anyone since they brought you in. I’ll just roll home in a couple of hours and pretend I’m back from some girl’s house doing the walk of shame.” He tried to flash her a careless grin. “It’s high time I put my reputation to good use.”

“Oliver, thank you. I don’t know what to say. I…thank you so much. I’m so sorry for taking up so much of your time and dragging you here. I’m going to be ok. They are keeping me for a another day to run some tests but they said I should be discharged soon after that.” She avoided his gaze, playing idly with the hem of her blue hospital blanket. 

“Felicity do you know why you collapsed? What is going on?”

“I’m going to be fine Oliver. Well I mean I’m not in 100% tiptop shape but who is if they need to be admitted to hospital. But I will be ok though. I’ll see you in a few days? You probably want to head home, get back to Verdant. I’ll call you as soon as the first progress report goes through for PQ Labs and then we’ll discuss how we want to deal with site inspections moving forward. I’ve been thinking there is no need for us to do joint inspections anymore. We can conduct inspections alternately and write a report for the other to sign off on.” 

She smiled a bright false smile at him and he briefly wondered if this was what she did to Palmer. He didn’t have all the details of what went on there and he knew now was not the time to get into it but he could feel her shutting him out. She wasn’t even giving him an out; she had gone ahead and set up the walls, as efficiently and quickly as she did with everything business related.

“No,” he stated firmly, his voice sounding a little louder than he had intended.

“No?” she responded with a quizzical look on her face. “No to the alternate site inspections or to writing the report?”

“You know damn well I’m not talking about the reports Felicity,” he gritted out, his temper flaring. He wasn’t normally someone who got riled up easily but her brush off had hurt him more than he cared to admit. He may not have been her first choice as a business partner but they had found common ground. They had actually enjoyed each other’s company or so he thought and he considered them friends. Her suddenly freezing him out felt like a slap in the face. That coupled with the fact that he cared when he knew he shouldn’t be caring was wreaking havoc with his head. 

“Is this what you did to Palmer when you shut him out?” 

“Excuse me?”

“I thought we friends Felicity,” he said, rubbing his temples. “I thought we liked each other as friends. There was good-natured bantering and teasing. Heck you even accepted my company after you had your run in with Palmer. And then suddenly after your collapse you’re sending me away even though I’ve sat here for eight hours waiting for you to wake up and now you’re effectively telling me that you want to see me as little as possible. Lets minimize all contact, even business contact and do separate site visits. What the HELL Felicity.”

He regretted the words the instant they came out. He could see the tears welling up in her eyes as she made a move to try and wipe them away, whilst trying to look as casual and unperturbed as she could. All rational thought flew out the window as he sat himself on the bed and pulled her into his chest for a hug.  
“I’m sorry Felicity. I was a real bastard for blowing up at you like that.” She sniffled into his chest and he added lamely “I’ve never been rejected by anyone and apparently I don’t deal well with rejection.” He tilted his head to look at her and offered her a sheepish smile. 

Felicity managed to regroup and extract herself from his arms, motioning for him to sit on the chair beside her. She closed her eyes for a few seconds before speaking.

“I owe you an explanation. I’m really sorry Oliver. It’s become habitual for me to do what I do. You’re right, you’ve been a good friend to me and I shouldn’t have tried to freeze you out like that.”

“You don’t owe me anything. I’m sorry I blew up like that.”

“I want to tell you. You’ve basically witnessed my entire story already so I might as well give you all the sordid details.” She smiled a sad little smile, before speaking with a far away look in her eyes.

“When I was nineteen I was diagnosed with a heart condition. It was serious but not fatal. I felt invincible as all nineteen year olds do and it didn’t bother me the slightest. I was on medication and most of the time I was fine. I was able to do everything that anyone else could do. 

I got offered a Graduate role at Palmer Tech with a very generous salary package so I packed my life up and moved to Starling. Ray interviewed me himself for my final interview. I was a little bit star struck with him being a Doctor and a genius but I was a pleb and he was the CEO so our paths didn’t cross for the next two years. He was my idol though so I did keep tabs on him in the media and from that I knew that he had watched Anna battle a terminal illness for two years before she passed away. About a year after Anna passed away Ray and I started working together. I had been promoted to Head of Applied Sciences and Ray was very hands on with our projects. We found ourselves working long hours together. I think he was grieving for Anna and I was just your run of the mill workaholic. 

One thing led to another and we found ourselves in what we tried to keep a secret relationship but the press was all over it. This didn’t deter us though and we were happy despite all the unwanted media speculation. Then one day…” 

Felicity paused and he could see her eyes tearing up again as she fought the tremor in her voice.

“One day I was out with friends and had silent heart attack. I checked myself into hospital the next day and was told that my medication was not working anymore. They changed my medication but they strongly suggested that I have surgery. I was told that I could continue with the medication route but they estimated that it would only be another five or so years before the medication stopped working on my condition and I would need major heart surgery.”

“Palmer would have supported you through it Felicity. I don’t know the guy but from what I saw he seems to be head over heels in love with you and wouldn’t have cared that you were sick.” 

“I know Ray would have stayed, I know if he knew the truth he’d rush over and see me through it but I didn’t want him to Oliver. He had already been through so much with Anna’s illness and he was only thirty-three. I didn’t…I couldn’t do that to him again so I…” her voiced trailed off and Oliver knew he didn’t need her to continue anymore.

“You built a brick wall around yourself and shut out Palmer but you never told him why so you two have been doing this tortured dance for the last two years,” he finished for her.

“I honestly thought he’d move on at first. I loved him and I think he loved me but it wasn’t an all-consuming kind of love.”

“You under estimate the effect you have on people,” he muttered, thinking of the affect she had and was still having on him. 

“I felt so awful Oliver. Sometimes I so badly wanted to tell him but the longer he pursued me the more I realised that if I told him he’d drop everything to be with me and I didn’t want that for him. One painful death of a spouse is more than anything anyone should go through in a lifetime and I just couldn’t do that to him. I wanted him to find someone who was happy and healthy and to have a family one-day.” 

She looked wistful and he wondered if she saw any of those things in her future or did she just exist day by day waiting for her time to come. Suddenly he became all too aware of why she was so passionate about PQ Labs. Felicity loved science with a passion and this was the legacy she wanted to leave behind should anything happen to her. 

“And what about you?” he asked quietly. 

“What about me?” she smiled suddenly looking very tired and even more pale than when he had first laid eyes on her. Their conversation had taken a toll on her.

“Do you see a family and kids for yourself or have you given up on a future for yourself? You say that you don’t want Ray to go through what he did with Anna and I can sort of see your reasoning behind that since the guy has had enough tragedy in his life but what about you? You don’t have a death warrant on you, you know. What if you met someone else that you could fall in love with? Would you shut them out too?”

“I see myself doing a lot of the things I love. I love programming, spending time tinkering in the lab, buffets, watching Netflix, going to shows at the theatre. There’s a lot to love about life. But I can be my own source of happiness Oliver, I don’t need or want to form any attachments in order to be happy,” she responded carefully, as if she were issuing him a warning.

“In other words you’re being quite fatalistic?” he challenged. He didn’t know why he irrationally wanted to pick a fight with her, to chastise her for giving up hope. He certainly wasn’t volunteering to be her knight in shining armor and personally give her the future she envisaged for Palmer. 

Commitment, marriage, kids; anything that lasted more than a week normally scared him enough to make him want to break out in hives. Yet here he was staring down a barrel of disappointment because she had made it perfectly clear that she was not open to a relationship of any kind with anyone. 

“I’m a realist Oliver. I’m not looking for anything permanent right now.” 

Something about her tone told him that the conversation on this topic had come to an end. He resisted the urge to argue with her, vowing that he would find a way to change her mind on this one day. Not because he wanted any kind of permanent relationship with her but because he needed for her to see the error of her pessimistic ways.

“What time are they discharging you tomorrow?” he asked, changing the subject. “I’m going to go home and change and do some paperwork for Verdant but I’ll drop by tomorrow and take you home when they discharge you.”

“Aww thanks Oliver, that’s really sweet of you but there is no need. Friends of mine are catching the train up from Central City to check up on me so we’re just going to catch a cab back to my house.” 

Something about her tone felt a little off to him but he decided he wasn’t going to argue with her. It would do him a world of good to get away from Felicity Smoak for a few hours and gather his wits. She was proving to be surprisingly stubborn, although he probably should have guessed it since one did not get to be VP by twenty-six without a determined streak.

“Call me if you need anything. And thanks for telling me everything that you’ve told me today Felicity. I know it was hard for you.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze before getting up.

“It’s a bit of a relief to actually say it out to someone,” she confessed, smiling a tired smile. “I’ll see you in a few days Oliver.”

***

Felicity checked her makeup briefly in her compact as she headed out to the taxi stand at Starling General. She had spent the last two days looking like something the cat dragged in and she was sick of it so she had made a special effort to at least head home looking half human again. Dressed in a pair of figure hugging skinny jeans, gold strappy sandals and a yellow lace singlet, she surveyed her now significantly rosier complexion once again and smoothed out her curls before shoving the compact into her bag. It was then that she looked up and spotted non other than Oliver waiting nonchalantly at the taxi stand as if he were expecting her. He was wearing jeans and a casual sweater, eyeing her with an amused grin. She froze mid step and momentarily debated whether she should make a run for it. 

“I thought your friends from Central City were taking you home?” he asked casually. 

“They would have but I sent them home,” she responded truthfully. Iris and Barry had wanted to take her home but she had insisted that they catch the afternoon train back to Central City so as to make it back on time for work on Monday. 

“Let me see, did you tell them not to worry about taking you home because you had another friend who was going to pick you up today?” he asked, accurately predicting that she had indeed tinkered with the truth and told Iris and Barry a similar story to the one she had told him.

“Busted,” she tried to laugh it off, raising her hands in mock surrender. 

“Felicity why would you do that? All of us obviously wanted to take you home. Why couldn’t you just accept that?” he sighed, sounding frustrated. 

“Because they live far away and have their own commitments. You have your own commitments and I am a grown woman who is perfectly capable of catching a cab home,” she shrugged. She opened her mouth to continue but seeing the disappointed look on his face she decided to change her tact. She wondered how long he had been waiting for her and why he, Oliver Queen, of all people was standing around a taxi stand on the weekend to wait and see if she was being escorted home. 

“Don’t look so cross Oliver. Aren’t you going to take me home then since you’ve already spent how many hours stalking me?” she teased. Felicity grabbed his arm and flashed him her most dazzling smile. His expression softened.

“Fine but you’re having dinner with me tonight.” He took her overnight bag off her and led her to the car park.

“Fine but we’re ordering in and it must be Thai,” she retorted. “I need to eat something that will blast my taste buds after all that hospital food,” she shuddered. 

“And you’re paying,” she added for good measure. “And we’re watching Stargate SG1 during dinner!”

Felicity shut out all the alarm bells in her head that were warning her what a bad idea this was. She figured she had been through a lot this week. She was going to treat herself to eating Thai and oogling at Oliver Queen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As this is sort of partially ripped off an asian tragedy I have kept Felicity's condition relatively vague so I hope you are able to suspend disbelief and don't delve too much into the actual science behind it. I figured I am not a doctor or scientist so if I keep trying to give details I will just shoot myself in the foot!


	5. Irresistible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity makes questionable decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heidi2310 this update is for you! I didn't think anyone cared about this story but your message made me sit down, write a plot outline and now I know where I am headed! 
> 
> *chants to herself* I will always have a plot outline before I write from now on!

Felicity sipped her lemonade and observed the crowded dance floor, occasionally raising a hand to wave and laugh at Barry who was bopping along dorkily on the dance floor with Iris. Dear old Barry still looked like a stunned mullet at times, not quite believing his luck that Iris had agreed to marry him. They were so adorable together; Felicity could not help beaming at them. Heck if she beamed anymore her cheeks were going to cramp. 

After her latest health scare Felicity had taken time to reflect on where she was headed in life. Sure PQ Labs was her baby, her legacy but she had come away from the incident vowing to spend more time with her friends. Her good days outnumbered her bad and Felicity decided if her time was limited she wanted to spend some of it having fun with people she loved. So here she was in Verdant, in an itsy bitsy little gold dress, willing herself to remove her inhibitions and join the fray of people on the dance floor.

“So what do you think of my life’s work Ms Smoak,” a familiar voice whispered in her ear. Felicity jumped. She wasn’t expecting him to be here tonight and had deliberately picked a night when she knew Tommy was doing the rounds. She turned around and looked up, her heart thumping wildly throwing her off kilter. She stumbled momentarily and lost her balance, falling neatly into Oliver’s arms. 

“You should have told me you were coming tonight,” he smiled at her, making her heart rate ramp up even higher. He was still holding onto her waist and looking straight into her eyes. 

“Didn’t want to take you away from your adoring fan club by making you entertain little old me,” she replied, winking impishly at him, despite her nerves. She had never mastered the art of winking so it looked like a peculiar facial tick but he seemed charmed nevertheless.

“You know you always take precedence above everybody else Felicity.” His tone was no longer playful as he stared at her intensely, both of them completely aware that she was still nestled in his arms, although neither made a move to untangle themselves. 

Felicity wasn’t sure what would have happened next if Barry with his ever-impeccable timing had not interrupted them. 

“Felicity! Who’s your friend?” Barry grinned good-naturedly at them both. Iris was standing by his side wearing her best “You better explain this Felicity” look.

“Iris and Barry, this is…”  
“Oliver Queen, your partner for the PQ Lab projects,” Iris jumped in before she had a chance to finish her sentence. “Felicity you didn’t mention that you were also seeing each other!”

“Seeing each other?” Felicity spluttered, as Barry shot Iris a look of disapproval and nudged her gently. 

“Nooo we’re not seeing each other. We’re colleagues. I mean we see each other because we can both see things, as in we have the ability of sight but we aren’t seeing, as in dating each other,” Felicity rambled, her cheeks growing warmer and warmer by the minute. She was going to kill Iris later! She didn’t care if she went to jail, she was going to kill one half of WestAllen. 

“Then why are you in his arms?” Iris asked innocently. “Looks more serious than dating,” Iris continued, completely unperturbed. “Barry and I sure as hell didn’t look like that when we first started dating, did we Barry?”

“She’s feeling cold and I’m just warming her up,” Oliver responded calmly, with a hint of mirth in his eyes as he began to rub Felicity’s bare arms, still making no move to break up their embrace. He did eventually stop to extend an arm out to greet the other two.

“Nice to meet you…”

“Barry, Barry Allen,” Barry responded cheerfully. “And this is my fiancé Iris West. We’re Felicity’s best friends.”

“Ex best friends soon,” Felicity muttered darkly. 

“Barry, I’m feeling sick we need to return to the hotel,” Iris declared abruptly, looking more sly than sick. 

“But you’re supposed to drop by tonight for board games!” Felicity huffed in annoyance. She knew what her friend was like and this was another one of Iris’s schemes. Aside from her burgeoning career as a reporter and Barry, Iris’s other passion in life was to set Felicity up with someone. 

“Sorry babe! Another night! Feeling too sick for games. Come on Barry!” She winked at Felicity and dragged a surprised looking Barry off, vanishing into the crowd before Felicity could get another word in.

“I’m sorry she’s a real weirdo,” Felicity wriggled out of his arms and looked around, suddenly feeling a bit overwhelmed. Bloody Iris had ditched her and now she was stuck in a club in a tiny, tight gold dress wondering what on earth she was going to do next.

“Felicity I like board games,” Oliver smiled at her. “I’ll play with you.” He took a step towards her, closing the distance between them.

Felicity took a step back, tilted her head and leveled her gaze at him. “Somehow I don’t see you as a board games type of person Oliver. Poker maybe but not board games.”

“Oh I can play anything you want Felicity,” Oliver moved towards her again. This time she leaned in instead of stepping away. She didn’t know what had come over her but tonight she felt like shedding her old skin and doing something different, something a bit reckless. Besides what harm could a few games and a bit of flirting do. After all she had made a conscious decision to live a little hadn’t she. 

***

Felicity stuck a leg out of her sheets, in an effort to slowly and carefully slide out of Oliver’s vice like grip. She would have never figured him for a cuddler but here she was making every effort to roll away, only to have him snore softly and pull her closer to him. Not that Felicity knew what she would do even if she had managed to untangle herself from him. They were at her place after all, leaving her nowhere to go even if she were volunteering to do the walk of shame. Perhaps if she just rolled away from him and pretended to be fast asleep on the other side of the bed, he’d eventually wake up and leave.

Felicity tried to wriggle out of his grip to no avail and let out a quiet groan as she mulled over the string of bad decisions she had made last night. Sometime after Barry and Iris left she had decided it was an excellent idea to flirt shamelessly back with Oliver and invite him to her place. The flirting and invitation were not the worse decisions she had made. He had been to her place a few times before to run over documents, eat dinner and occasionally watch a movie together. No it was the decision to play strip poker without counting cards that did her in. Somewhere along the way he had kissed her and before she knew it she was half naked and straddling him. Then he was inside her and they were screaming each other’s names. Still even then, it hadn’t seemed like such a terrible decision. She hadn’t felt so alive in such a long time. They couldn’t get enough of each other and each one kept coming back for more until finally exhausted they had fallen asleep in each other’s arms. 

“Morning,” Oliver whispered sleepily, a lazy smile spreading across his face. Felicity momentarily froze before pulling her leg back under the sheets in an effort to hide the view of her bare legs from him. A move that she realized was incredibly silly given everything they had done earlier and his hand was still currently holding onto one of her boobs. The time for modestly had long gone. 

“Morning,” Felicity whispered back, desperately hoping he’d go back to sleep so she could have more time to think or sneak off. At this point she was not above doing a runner and not coming back until he had left her townhouse. Realistically she knew she’d have to face him sooner or later but all of Felicity’s bravado from last night was gone and she’d rather deal with this later. 

“I can hear you freaking out Felicity,” Oliver chuckled, apparently wide-awake now. “Come here and relax.” He pulled her towards him gently and began nibbling on her ear, making his way down her neck. Felicity could feel all the tension in her body ebb away, her mind growing foggy again as she tried to remain focused on the issues at hand.

“Oliveeeeer, stop it,” her voice came out like in half a wail and half a moan. He stopped licking her neck but didn’t let her go, instead pulling her flushed against his body. 

“You’re probably wondering what the hell you’ve done, how we’re going to work together anymore and how the hell you’re going to escape from your own home to get away from me aren’t you?” 

Felicity could not help but let out a huff of laughter in spite of herself. “For someone who hasn’t known me long, you sure do know me very well.”

“I can hear that big brain of yours ticking away,” he smiled, one hand tracing patterns on her tummy while the other hand was still gently holding onto her boob. She could feel his erection digging into her butt. It was really the most bizarre position to be in considering the discussion they were trying to have.

“We…I can’t do this. You need to go.” She rolled around to face him and looked at him pleadingly. “Please?”

Oliver sighed and searched for her hands under the sheets. He soon found them and intertwined his fingers with hers. “I’ll leave if that’s what you need me to do Felicity. But we’re two consenting adults and this could be good for both of us if you’re willing to entertain it.” Felicity bit her lip, he could see her braining ticking, trying to work out what he meant by that. 

There were so many things he wanted to say, all of which would make her flee and shut the door on him forever so he stoically buried all those feelings and said in a casual tone.

“You don’t want anything permanent and I’ve never wanted anything permanent. I think you’re incredible Felicity and from last night it’s obvious that we’re good together. So why don’t we just continue this, whatever it is since we’re both avoiding the same things in life.”

For one incredibly brief moment, Oliver could have sworn that he saw a hint if disappointment flicker over her face. The expression vanished as quickly as it appeared and she was now looking thoughtful. 

“How would this work? We work together. The tabloids would have a field day.”

Buoyed by the fact that she didn’t shut him down outright Oliver worked on putting her at ease. “The tabloids will continue publishing articles about us until PQ Labs is launched and even then there are no guarantees the rumors will stop. For some reason the media thinks I have default heart eyes when I look at you. Unless we stop being friends, which I don’t plan on anytime soon, if ever, they will talk about us. So why don’t we have a bit of fun in the meantime. Give those rumors some secret truth.”

“But you’re you and what if you want to pick up someone at the club one night. I don’t think this is a good idea. It just sounds messy. I don’t like messy. And we were getting along to so well platonically too.”

“There was nothing platonic about us last night and I haven’t felt platonic with you for a while now,” he scoffed at her, feeling slightly hurt and angry that she was hinting he’d want someone else on the side. “And just so you know, I’m not who I used to be and the only person I’ve been attracted to in a long time is you.”

“Oh Oliver, I didn’t mean to be offensive. I just…I just think a friends with benefits thing might cramp your style and while I don’t want anything permanent I’m not up for a situation where I’m seeing you while you’re seeing other people kind of thing. It’s icky.” She let out a shudder and shuffled backwards away from him.

“Hey I’m not seeing anyone and I don’t intend on seeing anyone if we’re going to do this. Do you think you can trust me?” He reached over, pulling her back to him again, kissing the top of her golden curls.

“I do trust you. I do.” She snuggled back into his arms. She was tired. Tired of being alone, tired of burying her feelings, tired of giving up things that had made her happy. 

“Can you promise me one thing Oliver?”

“Anything.”

“You’ll just be fond of me but you won’t fall in love with me? Don’t get too attached okay because if you want something more one day I can’t give it to you.”

“I’ll try.”

His response should have rung alarm bells with her but lying there in his arms with him making heart eyes at her, Felicity wanted to be selfish and to give herself this little patch of happiness no matter how temporary it was.


	6. Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm back with another update. I'm feeling twitchy right now with the state of Canon Olicity, I really needed to cheer myself up.
> 
> So just a word of warning for the chapters ahead in this story, they are probably going to be super mushy "You are the love of my life" type of stuff! I miss how epic Olicity were in the show so I'm exorcising my demons by making them super mushy in this AU!
> 
> Also thank you for your comments and kudos! I am delighted that you guys are enjoying this!

How to Marry a Billionaire

It was the romance we were all obsessed with for three years but proving that she never disappoints, it looks like our resident Programming Princess has moved on from Dr. Ray Palmer, straight into the arms of the aptly named billionaire Oliver Queen. 

We would never have predicted this outcome in our wildest dreams but recent photos of the happy couple at dinner have confirmed our suspicions that a fully-fledged romance has emerged between the gorgeous couple. A series of photos exclusive to Tattle Tale shows Oliver Queen lovingly feeding Ms Smoak dessert from his fork. But that’s not the most scandalous picture of all and neither is it the most intriguing. In our many years of pursuing Oliver Queen (or Ollie as he was frequently know) we have captured our fair share of pictures depicting the former play boy’s debauchery lifestyle whilst engaged to long suffering ex fiancé Laurel Lance. 

We bring you these exclusive photos of Oliver Queen carrying what appears to be bags of groceries into Ms Smoak’s townhouse along with a fern (Oliver Queen bought her a plant people!) and a Thermomix. Ms Smoak was nowhere in sight fuelling rumors that Oliver Queen holds the keys to her house. Things must be getting serious!

Just when you thought you had seen it all we’ve saved the best for last. Perhaps the most scandalous photo of all is the one of our resident playboy wearing a “Kiss the Cook” apron and making out with Ms. Smoak while he was cooking their dinner on an outdoor grill. The photos show the two sharing some passionate kisses with Oliver looking visibly smitten, groping Ms. Smoak while trying to flip his steaks at the same time. 

Felicity, Tattle Tale would like to know how you do it? We can barely navigate Tinder while you’ve snared two billionaires already. Guess life is easier when you have an IQ of 170 and the looks of a CW Star. 

For those of you who were backing Dr Ray Palmer in this race, take heart. It looks like the good doctor has potentially found love again with widow and “also a doctor” (seriously what is it with all these attractive intelligent people) Caitlin Snow. The two have been seen out and about on the town together holding hands and sharing intimate looks. 

Tattle Tale is pushing for a double date between these ridiculously attractive couples. We vow to bring you the first exclusive pictures when this happens. 

***

“I can’t believe it but we’re actually ahead of schedule by two weeks,” Felicity beamed as soon as Oliver stepped into her office. “I wonder if it was the commencement of construction in spring. If I ever get embroiled in another construction deal I will make note to steer clear of winter for the initial stages of the project. Star City winters are the worse. Here’s the latest QA report. You have a look at it and sign off. I did a quick skim and couldn’t find anything concerning but you are the expert at this part so you go over it and see if I’ve missed anything. I’m looking into the machine orders for Laboratory A as that is nearing completion. Oliver!!!! I’m so excited I’m freaking out! I’m furnishing three entire labs!!!!! It’s like I’ve lived all my life for this moment!”

She was talking at a million miles per hour, pouting adorably at him with all the vivacity and energy that was uniquely Felicity. Her eyes were a bright dazzling blue, and her cheeks were rosy from all her excitement. They had a strict no canoodling in the office rule but seeing as the floor had been empty when he came up, Oliver couldn’t resist but pull her in for a deep kiss. God he was addicted to her. He had just woken up next to her this morning and knew he would be seeing her tonight but he wanted more than anything to just get lost in her. Perhaps if he sat down and thought about it he’d be scared of what this was doing to him but Oliver was beyond thinking now. He had fallen deep into the rabbit hole and all he could think about was the next moment he’d be with her. 

She returned his kiss with equal enthusiasm, pulling him over to her desk, away from the windows. She pushed him into a chair and hopped on his lap whilst still kissing him feverishly. 

“I could almost give up Lab equipment for you,” she panted when they finally came up for air. “You drive me about as wild as a high end centrifuge.”

He laughed, pulling her to his chest, nuzzling his nose into her hair. “I think that is the most affectionate thing you have ever said to me Felicity.”

She was silent for a moment. He could hear her thinking as she buried her face into his chest, snuggling closer up to him. Her voice was quiet when she finally spoke.

“I…I just wanted to tell you I’m having lunch with Ray today. He said he had some things to tell me. I think it’s just about how he and Caitlin are dating. He and I have never addressed that night, the night you found me crying. I feel like there are some things I need to put to rest. I feel so weird telling you this but then it feels super weird and wrong not to tell you. So here I am…telling you.”

Oliver tilted her chin up to get a good look at her face. Her sweet, earnest little face. It killed him a bit to think that she was going to lunch with Palmer, knowing their history and the reasons they didn’t work out, yet somewhere deep down he felt a small burst of happiness, that she was worried of how he’d feel about all this and was checking up on his feelings.

“You guys have a complicated history and he’s your old friend. I can’t say that I’m thrilled Felicity but you knew him first and you shouldn’t end that friendship on my account.”

“You know it’s just friendship right? These past few months…I’ve been happy. Happier than I have ever been for a long time.” She smiled that sweet endearing little smile that he had only ever seen her smile for him and Oliver could feel his heart melt. He knew he was in too deep to ever get out now but the one thing that kept him going was the knowledge that he made her happy. He could see the light in her eyes these days and she had lost that sad, haunted look that sometimes settled on her face when she thought he wasn’t looking in their first few months together. Although Felicity never acknowledged them to be anything more than close friends with benefits she seemed more than happy to dive in headfirst with him, allowing an intimacy that was beyond any physical closeness they shared. 

Every day Oliver pushed the boundaries of their relationship more and more and every day she let him in further and further, although never acknowledging it. He was happy to run with this for now, to give her the time and head space she needed before he dared to ask for something more from her.

“Should I cook or should we go out tonight?” he changed the subject. Felicity made no move to get off his lap, instead settling comfortably there.

“I can’t make you cook me dinner after I see my ex. How about I cook you dinner instead? I could fry up potatoes and steaks like you taught me last time.” Her eyes lit up and the prospect of having a go in the kitchen. Felicity loved to cook. She was just terrible at it and as smitten as he was with her, eating her cooking was not something he was prepared to do. It was where he drew the line in their relationship.

“You, Ms Smoak,” he responded kissing the top of her head and making his way down, kissing her forehead, nose, mouth and neck along the way, “Are a brilliant, intelligent, sweet, funny and charming woman. But you are an awful cook! And that’s putting it kindly. So how about you use that big brain of yours to test all the state of the art equipment for PQ labs and leave the cooking to me.”

She pouted at him but he merely pulled her in for another kiss and laughed at her. 

***

Felicity could smell the aroma of roast chicken wafting to her nose as soon she opened the front door. Oliver must be whipping up a feast again. It never ceased to amaze her how competent he was in the kitchen. He had shared with her that he wanted to expand the Verdant Empire to include an exclusive high-end restaurant on the premises. Smelling the wonderful aromas prompted Felicity to remind herself that they needed to discuss this again now that the PQ project was chugging along with minimal intervention. Verdant was doing incredibly well but Oliver’s talents in the kitchen were beyond that of a good cook. It was a shame to waste his skills and recipes on dinners for two and not turn it into a moneymaker somehow. 

She kicked off her heels, stacking them neatly on the shoe rack and shrugged off her suit jacket before heading toward the open plan kitchen where she spotted Oliver in tracksuit pants, a black tank top, fussing over some crème brulees. She threw her arms around his waist from behind, copping a feel of his abs before snuggling into him. It was wonderful to come home to the delicious smell of dinner and to have someone waiting to fuss over her. Even better when that someone looked like an underwear model. 

Felicity wasn’t sure how long this new found happiness was going to last until Oliver got bored and wanted out but the fact that she was living this life right now was good enough for her. Felicity used to sometimes curl up and cry whenever she thought of Ray and what she had to give up because of her illness. But with Oliver, her illness was insurance that she wouldn’t get hurt when things inevitably ended one day. They both knew that this crazy, heady affair was only temporary. She couldn’t promise him forever and he didn’t want forever from her.

“That’s quite a greeting Ms Smoak,” Oliver turned around to face her, pulling her in for a tight hug. She loved the way he held her. It always made her feel so warm and safe. Like his arms were a barrier between her and everything wrong in the world.

“I missed you,” she murmured into his chest. 

It was the truth. After a few initial awkward moments with Ray at lunch, they had laid the past to rest. Ray had stopped trying to find out why they couldn’t work out. He was currently trying to move on and they both wished each other the very best. They had a very enjoyable lunch after that, geeking out over all the new tech toys for PQ Labs. It was just like old times, except that Felicity found herself occasionally wondering what Oliver was up to and thinking about how much she missed him. She shook it off. It didn’t mean anything; she had just grown accustomed to Oliver that was all. 

“How did it go? Are you ok?” Oliver asked, thinking about the Tattle Tale article Thea had sent him earlier. He didn’t have any reason not to believe Felicity when she told him she was happy with him but the insecure part of him wondered if she still held a torch for Palmer and if those pictures with Caitlin Snow were hurting her. He didn’t want Felicity to be hurt ever. Oliver felt like his emotions were a mess. Sometimes his jealousy of Palmer simmered deep within him but a huge part of him was just fearful that Felicity would get hurt seeing that Palmer was trying to move on.

“It was FANTASTIC,” she let go of him and clapped her hands together, bouncing a little on her feet, her face breaking into a huge excited smile. “German engineered equipment Oliver! After I built Sabrina (her beloved custom made computer she built piece by piece to her own specifications) I didn’t think I could be as excited over anything ever again but these machines, these babies. The things they can and will do, the lives they will save. It almost makes me want to abandon coding for a career change in the labs.” 

She paused for a bit before giggling again. “I feel like such a science slut! I wish I had the time to do it all Oliver! Do my job at Palmer Tech, develop ground breaking software systems, get cozy with you and spend hours doing experiments in our new laboratories! There just aren’t enough hours in day!”

He grinned at her, a wave of relief flooding over him. She couldn’t be that hung up on Palmer if she had assumed he was asking about her lab equipment. Still Felicity was often very good at diverting attention away from things she didn’t want to talk about so he felt compelled to ask again. 

“I meant lunch with Palmer. How are you feeling about things? Thea sent me the new Tattle Tale article today.”

“I’m happy. YOU make me happy and I’m happy he’s finally moving on. It’s what I want for him. Caitlin is amazing and basically the dream girl I would have picked for him if I had such powers. Are you ok with everything? It sometimes feels like you were dragged in all of this and they keep stalking and posting pictures of you everywhere.” She bit her lip and looked thoughtful, “Are you happy?”

“There are pictures out there of me peeing on a cop. I think pictures of me lugging around Thelma the Thermomix is a step up,” he scoffed. He cupped his hands around her face, stroking her cheek gently. “And to answer your question I have never felt more happy or content in my entire life. You’re remarkable Felicity Smoak.”

She gazed at him with an enraptured look on her face, giving him no choice but to lean down and kiss her.

“Speaking of remarkable,” she sighed between kisses, “Is that crème brulee I see?”

“It is crème brulee you see. And there is also roast chicken with bacon and onion stuffing, gravy and assorted roast vegetables.”

“Sounds delicious,” she murmured appreciatively, still making no move to end their kisses. Without another word he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. Dinner could always wait.


	7. Closer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Guys!
> 
> this_empty_room made me this WONDERFUL poster!!!! THANK YOU!!!! 
> 
> Please go and check it out as it fits in with the story so well! I wish I knew how to include it but I am useless on this site and can't even do italics (took me an hour last time I tried!)
> 
> https://the-silverforked-sky.tumblr.com/post/157502950831/just-decided-to-make-a-poster-for-this-fic-its-a
> 
> ***
> 
> Here is your next update!
> 
> But it comes with warnings! The last part of this chapter contains cringe worthy smut! So ruuuuun when you get up to there if you don't want to endure my awful smut! I will not think badly of you!
> 
> So I was writing happily and then I reached a point in the plot which I thought would be better tackled in the next chapter. So instead of ending the chapter I decided to write a bit of smut and practise my smut writing which is atrocious. I figure this is the internet and it's not like I will run into any of you lovely people in real life and you'll point me out as the girl who writes bad smut! Heee!
> 
> Anyways, happy reading!

“Why is he with the really old woman?” Oliver whispered quietly, raising an eyebrow at the stage in front of him where the male lead was romancing a much older lady.

“Because she’s rich and he’s a starving writer,” Felicity whispered back, eyes glued to the stage.

Oliver wanted to say something else but thought the better of it as he noticed Felicity’ favourite song making it’s debut. Felicity was completely engrossed by the song performed on stage, her light blue eyes sparkling like a pair of aquamarines as she listened to the song. He knew she was doing her best to stop herself from singing along. This was a song she would often sing at home while she was attempting to clean or do her laundry.

This whole night was completely redeemable just to see the look on her face, he thought to himself. Being stuck in the theatre for hours, amidst a heap of caterwauling whilst trying to follow some story about a fellow who had shacked up with a cougar for money while dating an age appropriate girl on the side.

It was all worth it to see how ecstatic Felicity was when he told her he had reserved a box and was taking her to see Sunset Boulevard. While he had no interest in the show, he was content to sit back and watch Felicity, looking like a daffodil in figure hugging yellow bandage dress, a dress that clung onto her curves in all the right places and made her look even more ridiculously beautiful than she already was, the bright yellow setting off her blue eyes brilliantly.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity but was only 3 hours in reality the show ended. Without warning Felicity slid onto Oliver’s lap, kissing him softly, and sighing dreamily as she snuggled up against him.

“What was that for?” he asked, smiling into her hair as she rested her head against his chest, making no attempt to get off his lap. Elsewhere in the stands he could see other members of the audience starting to file out slowly.

“I wanted to say thank you,” she replied softly, looking up at him, her blue eyes looking very round and very large without her usual dark framed glasses. “I know you were bored out of your brains so I just wanted to show you how much I appreciated you accompanying me tonight and buying those tickets on your own accord.”

“Oh so are you going to show me your appreciation Ms. Smoak,” he whispered huskily into her ear, his hands roaming down towards her delightful derriere. They were in a private box and everyone was too preoccupied with trying to exit the theatre anyway. He let his hands settle firmly on her ample rear and lifted her face up for another kiss.

“I will once we get back home,” she responded between kisses.

***  
“Oliver darling is that you?” his mother’s unmistakable voice rang from behind, causing to him jump momentarily. He could feel Felicity’s body freeze on his lap as they unlocked lips and looked up guiltily like a pair of sprung teenagers. Oliver’s hand was still on Felicity’s luscious bottom. Defiantly he made no attempt to remove said hand. They were both consenting adults and neither were involved with other people. They had every right to grope each other in dark theatres if that was their wish.

Standing at the entrance of their box was his mother, with her face positively glowing as she beamed at the sight before her. Moira Queen made absolutely no attempt to disguise her delight and approval at her discovery whilst his father actually had the decency to only look mildly amused.

“Felicity Smoak,” Moira smiled at a distraught looking Felicity who was now sporting a bewildered deer in headlights look. She was so adorably cute when something shocked her. Oliver found himself fighting the urge to plant another kiss on her in front of his parents. He settled for beaming fondly at her.

“So all those tabloids I read are true! Oliver, why didn’t you tell us you were seeing Felicity? We’re so used to seeing articles about both of you we thought it was all a bit of gossip because you were working on PQ Labs together.”

“It’s not what it looks like Mr and Mrs Queen,” Felicity finally found her voice. “Well it is what it looks like but let me assure you it is not as scandalous as it looks. We were going to go home before the action really starts if you know what I mean. Okay maybe things got a bit steamy; it’s always a bit steamy with your son because I mean have you seen your son? OMG I just insinuated that you should check your son out. Gah! That’s creepy! Not that I’m saying that you’re creepy. Maybe a bit scary, with the dignified look and immoveable hair. And I’m going to stop now in three…two…one…because I just insulted you after you caught me making out in a public place with you son.”

Felicity finally stopped to take a big gulp of air as she glanced at Oliver for help. The traitor did nothing but laughed as he held her tighter and kissed her forehead.

“Mum and Dad, this is Felicity Smoak, my girlfriend. We wanted to keep it as private as we could so as not to overshadow the PQ Labs project but I guess you caught us tonight.”

Somehow his words allowed Felicity regained her composure. She didn’t stop to think why his words to his parents suddenly put her at ease and she didn’t dwell on the use of the word girlfriend. That was something to obsess about and freak out over another day. Right now she had Moira Queen, THE Moira Queen watching her curiously with an element of warmth that Felicity had not expected. Pulling herself together and channeling that part of herself that allowed her to deal with Dennis everyday and become VP at 26, Felicity slid off Oliver’s lap, straightened her shoulders and extended her hand.

“Mrs. Queen it’s so nice to meet you, despite the slightly unusual circumstances. Mr. Queen, always a pleasure to see you again. It was serendipity that Oliver ended up working on the project with me. It’s a pity we didn’t get a chance to work together. I was looking forward to picking your experienced brains.”

Oliver tried his best to stifle a chuckle. Even after all this time Felicity could not resist the slight dig at his father. He knew she still held a grudge at his father for bailing at the last minute without contacting her. The sting of Robert Queen contacting Ray instead of her was still there.

Moira, having firsthand knowledge of the chain of events during the initial phase of the PQ Labs project, at once jumped in to smooth things over.

“You two are doing a brilliant job together dear so I think it all worked out for the best. Felicity can I confess that I’ve been following your career through the tabloids over the years. Thea leaves all her gossip magazines lying around and once I was flicking through, stumbled on an article of you and I got hooked. It’s a bit of a thrill to find out you’re dating my son for real dear.”

Felicity felt like she had stepped into some sort of alternate universe. Moira Queen, fierce matriarch of the Queen Empire apparently viewed her as a bit of a celebrity. The woman just admitted to reading gossip rags about her. She smiled awkwardly, wondering where all this was going to lead to.

Moira shot a determined, steely smile at her. The smile was not without warmth but there was something calculating and insistent behind it that rattled Felicity a little.

“You two MUST come for lunch tomorrow! I refuse to take no for an answer! Don’t protest Oliver, you said you had plans tomorrow and we both know they’re with Felicity so why don’t you two stop by Queen Manor for lunch. We’ll only keep you for a few hours and you can still have the rest of the day to yourselves. I insist! You can’t imagine how thrilled I am to discover that you’re dating.”

“Uh…Uh sure,” Felicity agreed weakly. Moira Queen was a woman who got what she wanted and in this instance what she wanted was not the absolute worse thing in the world so Felicity was willing to concede on this fairly harmless request.

“Really?” Oliver shot her a pleased but puzzled look. “You’re willing to dine with my entire family? I didn’t think you would be up for it. I would have asked you earlier. I want you to know that I wasn’t intentionally keeping you from my family. I wanted to introduce you earlier but I was worried I’d spook you.”

“Oliver, it’s ok,” Felicity smiled gently at him, momentarily forgetting about the existence of the older Queens as she laced her fingers through his and looked up at him shyly. “I know you were just thinking about me. You’re always thinking about me.”

Moira Queen watched with a satisfied smile on her face as her son made heart eyes at Felicity Smoak, the latter returning his gaze with a look of absolute adoration on her face. It was obvious that they were lost in each other at that moment and had forgotten there was anyone else around but the two of them.

***

“Oliver I can’t believe your parents caught us with me on your lap and your hands on my butt!” Felicity wailed as she rubbed copious amounts of citrusy smelling body lotion over her shapely legs. Oliver’s breath hitched as she lifted up her camisole and continued to rub more lotion onto her toned tummy. Having full and unfettered access to her delightful body never stopped him from appreciating the view whenever he could.

Oliver smiled indulgently at her, still mesmerised by her body as she continued to rant about her woes at being caught making out by his parents.

“I shouldn’t care. I shouldn’t care right? I’m a fully-grown woman and that was our private box and in our private time. It’s perfectly fine for me to have a bit of a kiss if that was what I felt like.”

“Of course it is honey. And speaking of kisses and private time, how about we do some private things now to help you relax?”

The tight dress she wore all night had whipped him into a bit of a frenzy and now here in bed with Felicity wearing nothing but a skimpy green camisole and green lacy boy shorts, well he was starting to find it hard to concentrate on her words.

“I can’t Oliver,” she wailed. “I’m too mortified! I was caught making out by Robert and Moira Queen. I will never live down this embarrassment.”

“Come here,” he coaxed pulling her over, flipping her so that she was lying beneath him. He held his weight up with one arm so as not to crush her while running his other hand down her bare arms. “Just turn off that big brain and think about code! Think about that new security software you’re writing for Verdant in your spare time.”

He pulled down the straps of her camisole and began peppering kisses on her shoulder, gently sliding the camisole down to reveal her breasts. Despite her protests he noticed her nipples had pebbled as he slowly kissed his way down until he reached the soft pert mounds.

“To think about code I need the big brain turned on,” Felicity countered weakly, as his hands moved towards her bottom and were now at work tugging her lacy boy shorts off. He was being extra careful with her clothes tonight, noting her disapproval at his destruction of her underwear every time they made love.

“Did you just use the words turned on Ms Smoak,” he smiled to himself, his head buried between her breasts as his hand made it’s way between her legs. Deftly his fingers slid between her folds finding her clit. God she was already so wet despite her protests. He manipulated the little bud skillfully, rubbing and pinching it softly until he could feel her writhing and panting beneath him. That big brain was apparently being turned on right now.

“Oliver,” she moaned. “Oliveeeeer!”

“What do you need baby? Tell me what you need?”

In their everyday interactions Oliver was always considerate and careful of Felicity. She was skittish and fragile and he was happy to let her take the lead in their relationship, following her wherever she allowed him in. But in the bedroom, in the bedroom he relished in playing a game of cat and mouse with her.

“You know what I need Oliver,” Felicity wailed, still writhing under him, all hot and bothered. “I want you inside me. Now.”

“Like this?” he smirked, sliding two fingers inside her, pressing on that spot inside her that drove her wild. He shifted himself so that his erection was now digging into her thigh, eliciting a frustrated shout from her.

“Oliver please,” Felicity whimpered, beads of sweat forming on her forehead, her face delirious with desire.

Ignoring her pleas Oliver kept his fingers inside her, driving them in and out, making sure to press on her arousal spot every time his fingers entered her. Meanwhile his thumb massaged her clit mercilessly as she began to moan incoherently, her nails digging into his arms. She came apart from under him, her walls clenching tightly against his fingers, as her body shuddered with pleasure.

Not done with her yet, he removed his fingers from inside her and lined himself up against her entrance. She was still an incoherent babbling mess when he plunged inside her and began pounding into her mercilessly. She was so tight, so warm and so wet. Every single stroke felt like heaven and he found himself slowly losing control. Her little moans and whimpers did nothing to help his self control either. She wound her legs around him and his hands cupped her bottom, squeezing her against him.

“Oliver, Oliver I….I…” she stumbled through her words, her body starting to spasm beneath him.

“Do you want to come again?” he couldn’t resist whispering into her ear before biting down gently into her neck while still thrusting into her.

Her body convulsed as her pleasure spiraled out of control and she came screaming his name, he managed a few more thrusts, fucking her through yet another orgasm before emptying into her, kissing her lips roughly and clinging onto her desperately as he alleviated his desire.


	8. Could I Have This Kiss Forever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Folks!
> 
> Here is your next chapter! A bit mushy but I am in a heart eyes and mushy mood so I hope you enjoy it too!

“Hurry up we’re going to be late,” Felicity called out to Oliver as she whirled around her room like a hurricane. Really she needed to look at finding another solution because this whole sharing one bathroom thing was proving to cause her more grief than she was prepared for. It had been surprisingly easy for Oliver to semi move in and for them to integrate seamlessly into each other’s lives. If she were to actually sit down and think about or analyse it (both things which she avoided doing whenever she could because…complications) she’d be proud of how harmoniously they were living together despite the fact that he was a confirmed bachelor and she had never lived with anyone besides her mother (whom she loved but drove her mad, boy was she glad to pack up and head for college).

In her flurry of activity, Felicity found herself running straight into Oliver’s arms as he neatly caught hold of her and steadied her. 

“Hey take it easy,” he laughed, pulling her in for a hug. It was always so easy just being with her. He forever wanted to hug her, to hold her. “They are used to me being fashionably late all the time.”

“Well this is the first time I’m dining with them and I don’t want to appear rude,” Felicity replied, still looking stressed. “They caught me on your lap with your hands on my ass for God’s sake! The least I can do is show them that I am a decent person who is punctual.”

“Breathe Felicity, breathe,” Oliver tried to sooth her, only to be distracted by the sight of her dress, a peach coloured number that clung onto her body tightly with little stud holes strategically distributed throughout, showing off patches of creamy flesh. 

“Hey I can play connect the dots with your dress,” he murmured, staring at her exposed skin in fascination as he tried to trace each of the dots of exposed skin with his finger.

“Nonono you will be playing no such thing Mister! OMG This dress is slutty isn’t it? You’re giving me that look! Which means this dress is completely inappropriate! I’m changing out of it.” Without warning she pulled off the dress and stood in front of him in nothing but an apricot coloured thong and lace bra.

“Felicity, it’s like you want to be late on purpose,” Oliver groaned and threw up his hands up in the air, only to bring them down quickly again and resume his grabby hands at her. Felicity gave him a playful smack. 

“Oliver no grabsies!” Felicity laughed despite feeling slightly panicked over what she was going to wear to lunch with Moira Queen while Moira’s own son was actively trying to get Felicity out of her clothes. “We are not having a quickie before I sit down to a meal with your entire family.”

“Who says it’s going to be a quickie?” Oliver challenged her.

***

“Felicity what made you decide to take the internship at Palmer Technologies instead of Queens Consolidated?” Moira Queen asked pleasantly as she placed another slice of quiche on Felicity’s plate, after noticing how enthusiastically Felicity was tucking into the food.

Felicity swallowed her mouthful of food before answering. She had thought that she would be too nervous to eat but the sumptuous spread before her was simply too tempting to pass up. The table was ladened with fresh berries, chopped melons, chicken and mushroom crepes, slices of quiche lorraine, platters of pastries and the best coffee Felicity had ever drunk in her life. Oliver was an amazing cook, but even he, due to time constraints could not furnish a buffet such as this. Besides Felicity was renowned for her tendency to stress eat and here she was putting it to good use.

“Honestly? It might sound a little trivial now, after all these years but it meant the world to me back then. It came down to the fact that they paid a relocation allowance with their salary package. I went to MIT on a full scholarship and managed to squirrel up some money working part time but by the time I relocated to Star City and rented my first little flat in the Glades I was virtually penniless. The relocation allowance let me buy some furniture and actually buy real food besides packet ramen noodles.” 

Felicity looked Moira and Robert Queen straight in the eye as she recalled the story of her humble beginnings. Queen Manor was lavish and impressive but it did not intimidate her. It was nice having money and money hadn’t been an issue for her for so many years now, however Felicity recalled the days spent in that tiny, freezing little apartment in the Glades with fondness. It wasn’t much but it had been home and she, Barry and Iris had spent many a memorable weekend trying to throw potluck parties with their meager intern salaries. 

“Did you destroy all the real food you bought with your cooking too?” Oliver teased, earning her a playful swat from him.

“You know I am exceedingly optimistic about my cooking,” Felicity sniffed at him, pretending to look offended, earning some amused smiles from Moira and Robert.

“I take it your parents don’t live in Star City Felicity?” Moira asked curiously.

“There’s just mum and I. She lives in Vegas. She enjoys her life there. I’ve told her she should retire and that I am happy to support her for the rest of her days but my mum is fiercely independent and says she’ll just wither away if she doesn’t keep on working. She’s a cocktail waitress.” Felicity added the last part almost defiantly, as if waiting to see what kind of reaction it would garner from the older Queens. To their credit not a hair was turned or an eyebrow raised. 

“Your mother is a very sensible woman Felicity. Moira and I subscribe to the same theory. One cannot spend all day wondering around between lunch and games of tennis. That is why we still have our own projects to pursue,” Robert Queen smiled warmly at her.

“Felicity when your first smart watch launch at Palmer Technologies took place and we saw you speak at the launch and demonstrate your software, Robert stormed back to QC and demanded his secretary look up all the intern applications to see if we could find yours. He was absolutely livid that we hadn’t hired you. I understand that Ray Palmer is very hands on with his hiring process? Did he hire you himself dear?” There was something searching about Moira’s question and Felicity knew that after years of reading about her in the gossip rags, Moira probably had the same questions everyone else had about her past relationship with Ray.

“Yes Ray interviewed me himself during the final stages of the interview process. I didn’t see him again as a first year pleb but by the time of the Smart Watch launch we were working directly together. He was responsible for the hardware and I for the software. It was, still is a very successful business partnership.” 

Felicity answered the question firmly and calmly knowing full well she had nothing to be ashamed about. As complicated as her romantic history was with Ray, their relationship happened long after Anna had passed away and the dissolution of their relationship had in no way affected their business dealings at Palmer Tech. Besides the dust had finally settled now and Felicity could feel that they were heading back to the old rapport they had back when they started working together. 

She felt Oliver’s hand squeezing hers gently under the table and she smiled back at him. Oliver always had a knack for soothing her. 

“Sooo how did a girl like you end up dating Ollie?” Thea Queen jumped into the conversation after having remained uncharacteristically quiet and observant for most of the meal. “Cuz from what I’ve read he’s not really your type. Did you know he ran to me and made me google you after his first meeting with you. I told him you were way out of his league,” Thea grinned impishly at her brother who was now glaring daggers at her.

“Speedy,” he muttered exasperatedly.

“Actually your brother and I are very suited to each other. Very very very compatible. In lots of way, all the ways, so many many ways,” Felicity smiled absentmindedly at Thea and Oliver before suddenly realizing how suggestive her words were. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as she started blushing furiously.

“So it’s a sex thing then?” Thea raised an eyebrow so high it vanished under her fringe.

“It’s everything,” Oliver jumped in. “We just click Speedy so will you quit interrogating!”

“We make each other better,” Felicity addressed Thea, smiling softly. “We make each other happy.”

Oliver’s hand found hers again and their fingers intertwined as they gazed at one another, momentarily forgetting the other inhabitants at the dining table, consisting of a smirking Thea, an amused Robert and a thoughtful Moira. 

***

“I wish we could move this entire wardrobe of yours and cram it into the townhouse somehow,” Felicity mused, eyeing Oliver’s enormous built in wardrobe longingly as she thought of her own which was now steadily being invaded by Oliver’s shirts and suits. 

“It’s a built in Felicity,” Oliver chuckled as he gathered a handful of shirts and proceeded to fold and pack them neatly into a suitcase.

“I know. I just wish we had more space,” Felicity sighed.

“There’s an easy solution to that you know.”

“I guess…I’ve been avoiding it but we could go and just buy a new wardrobe for you next week. Maybe strategically place it into the study. I can jiggle the décor around and make it work,” Felicity answered thoughtfully. She had meticulously set up her apartment just the way she wanted it but she was more than willing to tinker around for the sake of extra storage.

“I was thinking on a bigger scale. Now that things have settled on PQ Labs and we don’t have to put in the crazy hours anymore, why don’t you help me look for a bigger place?”

“A bigger place,” Felicity echoed, looking at him with what she probably deemed to be an unreadable expression on her face. He hadn’t seen that expression resurface for quite some time but he knew the way Felicity worked. He knew that big brain of hers was ticking away under there, slowly working itself into panic mode and eventually seeking ways to shut people out.

“It’s only practical Felicity,” Oliver responded in a casual tone. “I’m at your house every other night and I have loved every moment there with you but it’s too small for the both of us. I saw that murderous look in your eyes today when we were both trying to get ready at the same time. Let’s go house hunting, find something bigger to accommodate the both of us.”

“That’s moving in together,” Felicity murmured, looking at him cautiously.  
“And what are we doing right now with our current arrangement?” Oliver challenged. “What’s all of this?” he gestured at the suitcase full of clothes they were bringing back to her house.

“You’re putting labels on things and stressing again Felicity. We can just continue doing what we’re doing only in a much bigger place with more wardrobe space and extra bathrooms. Aren’t you happy? Wasn’t the object of this just to be happy and not think about anything else and to stop if one day we weren’t happy anymore?”

“Well when you put it that way…” Felicity smiled softly at him and he knew the crisis was averted. “I am happy Oliver. And you are right. We’ll both be happier in a bigger space.”

Oliver knew it wasn’t him she objected to, it wasn’t life with him that scared her. As long as they didn’t put into words what was between them or try to define it Felicity was more than happy to jump into things headfirst with him. Oliver had never been a patient man or one with a long attention span for that matter. It was almost as if the universe was playing some sort of cruel joke on him. For every woman he had left, every promise he had broken, he was now hopelessly in love with a woman he wasn’t permitted to say I-love-you to. He wasn’t permitted to make any declarations, any promises not matter how much he wanted to. Amidst all this Oliver realized that he also possessed an infinite amount of patience. He was going to wait for her forever and slowly knock down those walls block by block until one day when she would become completely and utterly his.

***

“You actually took her home to meet us, it must be serious,” Moira materialised suddenly by Oliver’ side as he stood and watched Felicity admiring the gardens with Robert. It appeared that over the course of lunch, after a very long and engaging conversation with Robert Queen, Felicity had finally let go of her grudge and was now hopping around delightedly as he took her on a tour of the grounds of Queen Manor.

“It is mum and I would have taken her home sooner. But Felicity is different. She’s not like other girls. I was worried I’d scare her away.”

“She became VP at 26, of course she’s different from other girls,” Moira smiled. “She’s young Oliver, give her time. We all need time to find ourselves and become who we’re meant to be. I can tell that she loves you as much as you love her whether she’s willing to admit to it or not.”

“Mum, how do you know…” Oliver trailed off not sure of what to say to his mother. 

“I’m your mother Oliver, I just know these things. Your father will be pleased.”

“Well don’t plan the wedding yet. We still have a long way to go.”

“I had no intention of bringing up anything about a wedding Oliver. It’s interesting that’s the first place your mind went to.”

“If I let myself go mum I could be completely swept up in this. But she’s not ready. It’s actually eye opening for the tables to be turned on me for once.”

“Poor Laurel,” Moira said wistfully. “She was a nice girl and she tried so hard to fit into the family.”

“I tried too mum. I really did but in the end I couldn’t go through with it.” Oliver spoke the truth. He had really tried and even forced himself into an ill-advised engagement before finally ending it for good.

“I know dear. Besides it would have been terribly messy if you were still with Laurel when you met Felicity.”

“Felicity and I were friends first and foremost. She would never interfere with another woman’s relationship,” Oliver found himself feeling quite defensive at what his mother was suggesting.

“I wasn’t implying anything on Felicity’s part. But I see the way you look at her and can you honestly tell me that there was any way you could have resisted pursuing her?” Moira asked, looking at him searchingly.

“No,” Oliver admitted. “She’s Felicity."


	9. Truly Madly Deeply

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halloo!
> 
> Here is your next update! Hope you enjoy it!

“Did you see all the citrus trees in the yard? Lemons, blood oranges, grapefruits, tangerines,” Felicity squealed excitedly, clinging onto his arm with one hand while the other hand was gesticulating wildly. This was the fifth property they had viewed, with the previous four being penthouses in the city. This was their first proper house, a two storey residence with an immaculately landscaped yard, a lagoon style swimming pool and apparently plenty of citrus trees for Felicity to get excited over. 

“I'm not sure why you’re so excited Felicity. You can't cook!” Oliver laughed, giving her nose a gentle tweak.

“But I can learn,” she responded her eyes lighting up at the possibilities of all the concoctions she could whip up. Seeing Oliver’s hesitant look (he was so good to her about everything, except trying her cooking, he claimed he had been traumatized too many times by her) she wrinkled her nose at him and added in a slightly offended tone, “Maybe I can just juice the fruit and make you some morning juice. You'd trust me with juice wouldn't you?”

“I would do anything to make you happy Felicity,” he smiled at her. God she was so beautiful, hopping around in a pink v neck skater dress without a care in the world, a far cry from the when they first started. He would do anything for her to always be this happy. Instinctively he pulled her over for a kiss, “I like any house that makes your eyes sparkle like that Felicity. If you want it, I'll get it.”

“We don't need a house this big,” she said thoughtfully, glancing at the huge dining room they were standing in, her arms wrapped around his waist. 

Oliver bit down hard on his tongue to stop himself from making a comment about how the house would be perfect when their babies arrived. It was a sure fire way to send Felicity running and so he swallowed the words to make sure they were never uttered. At least not now. 

“Ollie?” a voiced called out interrupting him from his thoughts. He turned around to see Laurel, looking immaculate in a tailored grey dress heading towards him. A feeling of dread washed over him. What in earth was Laurel doing here. Running into her while house hunting was the last thing he expected.

“Laurel what are you doing here?” he asked before he could stop himself. He could feel Felicity shooting him a That-was-rude-Mister look. 

Felicity had been well informed on how his relationship with Laurel had ended. In fact he had used it to his advantage, recalling with great detail how trapped he felt and reiterating his distaste for commitment in an attempt to convince Felicity that there was no danger of him wanting a future with her despite his actions providing evidence to the contrary.

“I'm here to provide moral support to a friend who is house hunting. You know me. I've always loved looking at houses and apartments.” Laurel’s tone was perfectly pleasant however Oliver sensed the little dig aimed at him in her words, recalling the time he had bailed and hooked up with Sara, Laurel’s sister, right after Laurel had found an apartment for them to move in together. He had come crawling back and had proposed but that didn't stick and they never moved in together at all.

“Hi! Nice to meet you. You must be Laurel, gorgeous Laurel.” Felicity extended a hand warmly towards Laurel. Oliver watched Felicity intently, not quite sure what kind of reaction he was hoping to see from her. 

“Laurel this is Felicity. My Felicity. I mean my girlfriend Felicity,” he stumbled awkwardly. She hadn’t shown any signs of balking when he introduced her as his girlfriend to his parents. In fact they had, had several more lunches at Queen Manor since then. She had agreed to move in together and they were house hunting like they had a whole future ahead. He didn't want anything to jeopardize this leap she was willing to take with him. Not because he had unfortunately run into his ex fiancé.

“The Programming Princess!” Laurel smiled a friendly smile before whispering conspiratorially, “I read the tabloids and I'm a huge fan. You’re as famous as Ollie, but much less scandalous.”

“Oh goodness not you too,” Felicity turned a bright of pink before covering her face with her hands. “That stupid nickname! And I'm so boring I don't know why they even bothered with me all these years.”

“You're the girl next door in a powerful position with a fabulous wardrobe. They want you to be the IT girl,” Laurel replied teasingly, in a friendly tone.

“Do you know how weird it is to meet random people who tell you they read about you in the tabloids? Oliver’s mother knew where I did my grocery shopping, what foods I ate, which gym I went to, before she even met me!”

“You've got fans because you're cute,” Oliver laughed pulling her towards him. To his immense relief Laurel seemed very good-natured about the entire encounter despite her earlier jab. “If it makes you feel any better I didn't know anything about you before we met. Although I'll confess if I knew what a cute nerd you were I would have bought a few gossip magazines and cut out clippings.”

“I'm too mortified to continue this conversation! I'm going upstairs to check out wardrobe space! That's the entire reason why we started house hunting right? You two have fun catching up! Nice to meet you Laurel!” She stood on her tippy toes and placed a quick peck on Oliver’s cheek before rushing off towards the staircase. 

“Be careful, don’t trip,” he called after her, as she flew up the stairs.

“You're in love with her,” Laurel stated in a matter of fact tone once Felicity was out of sight. 

“Is it that obvious?” Oliver responded at once, looking a little rattled. He hadn’t seen Laurel for months and if that was her first conclusion he wondered just how obvious his feelings were to everyone. “Please don't say anything like that in front of her. She's not ready and I don't want to scare her away.”

“I never thought I'd live to see the day Ollie. I was telling the truth when I said that I followed Felicity in the tabloids. Imagine my surprise when they started reporting that you were seeing her and moving into her place. And now you're house hunting. Not even an apartment but a full blown house.” There was a tinge of bitterness creeping into her voice again. Oliver wouldn't lie, he probably deserved it. 

“I couldn’t help falling in love with her. She’s just so….so Felicity and I fell.”

“Why are you being so cagey about this Ollie? It’s obvious she loves you too. Why are you acting so nervous about this?” Laurel looked at him curiously, wondering what on earth was going on with him. 

“It's complicated,” he finally responded after a prolonged bout silence. 

“Ollie have you finally gotten a taste of your own medicine? That’s it isn't it? She's got commitment issues. She had Ray Palmer chasing her for years and years. You’re head over heels in love with a woman who won’t commit to you.” 

There was something victorious and satisfied about her tone as she stared at him in fascination and Oliver knew at once that the universe was punishing him. He who had lied and cheated on Laurel multiple times, was now tip toeing around on egg shells, unable to confess his love to Felicity, someone he so badly wanted, for fear of losing her. 

“I don’t want to talk about it. I can't lose her so please just don’t bring it up or tease about it if you run into her again,” he pleaded.

“For what it’s worth she looks like she’s in love with you too and I wish you well Ollie. You've obviously found whatever it is that was missing with me and all your other women. I hope you get your happily ever after with Felicity.” She reached out a hand and touched his cheek. “I'm going to go find my friend now. Best of luck Ollie.”

***

It took three months and a great deal of stress but finally “The Lair” was ready to be moved into. He had laughed loudly when Felicity announced that she wanted to call their place “The Lair” citing her childhood dream to have a secret hideaway where she could get up to mischief without being caught. It looked nothing like a lair, quite the opposite. It was bright, breezy and littered with touches of Felicity throughout. Colorful vases, quirky paintings and a massive collection of decorative mugs, which he did not know existed, materialized out of nowhere. Felicity had confessed to buying hoards of paintings every time she went cruising with her friends and that she was also an avid collector of mugs and vases. She had stashed these things in various boxes in the spare room of her little townhouse and was thrilled to finally have them out on display.

Amongst her resume of impressive skills it also appeared that Felicity was quite the artist and had painstakingly spent all her free time painting every single feature wall on her own. She had ambitious plans to paint the entire residence herself however after much pleading and cajoling Oliver managed to convince her to agree to hire painters for the generic walls in the house. 

“I still can’t believe you did it!” Felicity declared for what was probably the hundredth time as she snuggled comfortably in Oliver’s lap, on the brand new creamy leather sofa they had picked out together. Piece by piece they had managed to furnish the entire place. All that was left was to pack up their belongings and move in. “You just went and bought it like that, like it was nothing. Are you sure you don’t need the funds to expand Verdant?”

“It’s a bit too late to worry about buying it now Felicity. I’ve got a very healthy trust fund and I’ve never bought myself a place to live in. The trust owns various properties but I’ve never had my own home. Besides it was a good buy for the price.” He neglected to tell her that he had no choice but to buy the property as soon as he saw her face light up when viewing it.

“Are you sure we should be doing this? Moving in together. What if this is a mistake?” she asked softly, gazing at him, her eyes searching for reassurance from him.

“The house means nothing Felicity. It’s not a symbol or anything. It’s there to make our lives more comfortable. So can you stop thinking about what it means and concentrate on packing and moving in so we can finally have the extra space we so badly need?” He could feel her tense slightly when he told her the house didn’t mean anything. It hurt him more than it hurt her to make that comment. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and kissed the top of her head, “You deserve to be happy. We both do. So lets just be happy. Together.”

“You know what this means right?” she grinned, changing the subject, her eyes brightening again as she pushed whatever negative thoughts she had out of her head. Oliver had begun to realize that Felicity was brilliant at compartmentalizing her feelings, which in this instance was extremely useful to his cause. However he also realized that should she decide to run from him one day out of fear of hurting him, she was also going to put that particular skill to use as well. He needed to ensure that she would never want to run from him.

“No idea, you tell me?” he smiled fondly at her.

“We need to christen every room in this giant house Mr. Queen.”

***

“It’s so good to see you!” Felicity squealed, throwing her arms around Barry’s neck for a big bear hug. It felt like a lifetime ago when the three of them were inseparable on weekends with Felicity cheerfully being the third wheel to the great WestAllen romance. Now with work and Oliver, they hadn’t seen each other for what seemed like months. Felicity knew it was mainly her fault, she had been so preoccupied with the final stages of construction on PQ Labs, controlling the publicity around the project and moving into The Lair with Oliver, she had neglected her friends. 

“Didn’t think you cared about us anymore Felicity,” Barry grumbled, before returning her hug with equal enthusiasm.

“I know, I know I have been a terrible friend. But since your partner in crime is sick today, I have tried to make amends. I put this together with my bare hands, in between meetings with everything your better half loves including hot and sour soup from that sketchy chinese restaurant in the Glades she used to love. You know the gross one with a truckload of chillis in it that none of us can eat but Iris.”

“I’ll make sure I don’t miss the train back this afternoon and get this to her as soon as I reach Central City. But what do I get out of this? You abandoned me as well, not just Iris,” Barry demanded with an exaggerated hurt look on his face.

“I’m buying you lunch! And we both know how much you eat so that’s as good as what I got for Iris. Quit pouting at me Barry Allen,” Felicity swatted him fondly as they sat down at their table and perused their menus. 

After they placed their orders Felicity dropped her news on him. She had conveniently been vague about the status of her relationship with Oliver but now that they had moved in together and she missed her friends dearly, there was no way around it but to casually mention the whole “moving in” business to Barry as if it were a minor detail she had been too busy to bring up. 

“It’s just a small get together, held in a fortnight’s time. You will both be there right? Iris should get over her cold by then. I can’t wait to show you our new place. Iris will love the pool! Tell her to bring one of her cute swimsuits; it’s heated so we can go for a swim even if the weather is cool.”

Barry did not take the news well. Apparently it was great shock to the system to find that one of your chronically single best friends had moved in with a guy within a few months.

“WHAT? You moved in with him? Is it that house? The one with ten bedrooms and the lagoon pool? I thought it was just the Star Chronicles making up news about you because they have no better news to report in Star City. We couldn’t explain why there were pictures of you at the house viewing but we didn’t think you went and bought a massive house with him.”

“Technically he bought the house and it only has six bedrooms,” Felicity answered smoothly, trying to ignore Barry’s fussing as best as she could. She wished Iris was here to handle things. Iris would give her a grilling but she always did it in such a calm way in comparison to Barry’s squawking.

“Felicity, not the time to argue semantics. All those times you rang us you didn’t think to mention you were moving in with Oliver Queen? How serious is this? He bought a house so you guys could move in together! What’s next? Olicity babies?”

“Barry Allen don’t you dare call us that!” Felicity glared at her friend, pinching him lightly on the arm for lack of a better reaction.

“OWWW!!!!” Barry yelped. “Don’t get violent! That’s what they call you in the press! I think it’s kinda cute. Stop using violence to deflect my questions. Why are you moving in with him? I thought you didn’t do relationships. That’s what you said when you spent three years dodging Ray.”

“It’s not a relationship. Well it is and it isn’t,” she responded slowly. Barry was one of her oldest friends. He and Iris had held her hand and supported her through the Ray debacle. The dynamic duo viewed it as their right to vet her love life so she knew there was no way either of them would be letting this slide.

“That makes zero sense Felicity. Are you in love with him?” Barry shot at her. That was such an Iris thing to do, jump right to the point. It was like they were slowly sharing each other’s brains.

“It doesn’t matter if I’m in love with him. It’s an arrangement. One that we are both very happy with. Can you just agree to come to the house warming and quit it with the interrogating questions you learned from Iris?”

“You just said it doesn’t matter if you’re in love with him but you haven’t denied that you’re in love with him. Still avoiding the question Felicity,” Barry challenged.

“Whether I am in love with him or not makes no difference,” Felicity sighed. “This is an agreement between the two of us. He doesn’t want anything more from me and I have told him I can’t give him anything more. He knows about Ray, he was by my side when I was hospitalised, he knows why I can’t give anyone anything more. He’s not one for commitment anyway so the question about love is irrelevant.”

“Oliver Queen, playboy billionaire, serial cheater and chronic heartbreaker, has decided to suddenly let go of that lifestyle. He spends all his time with you and bought an enormous house for the both of you to move in together. I know I am the last person to know how someone like Oliver Queen operates but I don’t think Oliver Queen will go to the trouble of buying a house and moving in with a woman he’s having a bit of fun with. The man has women throwing themselves at him and owns a nightclub. Why would he do all this Felicity if he didn’t love you? If he wasn’t hoping for something more.”

“Didn’t you once lecture me on actually living my life and not letting my illness dictate it? Wasn’t it you who told me I didn’t have to be alone?” Felicity asked looking at her friend sadly.

“This is only half living and it’s living in denial Felicity,” Barry huffed exasperatedly. “You can’t move in with a guy, into a house you picked out and decorated together and pretend that you’re having a casual fling. What are you going to do if he’s in love with you? It’ll crush him if you reject him and take off like you did with Ray. I understand why you did what you did with Ray but I don’t know why you would want to re enact that debacle again.”

“It won’t come to that,” Felicity answered stubbornly. “I keep telling Oliver time and time again that there is no future for us and he agrees. He tells me one day when we’re not happy we’ll stop. Oliver means the world to me and I would never do anything to hurt him so you’ve just got to trust me on this okay. I’m a big girl and I know how to read a situation.”


	10. I Do (Cherish You)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Guys!
> 
> Here is your update! I hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> Fun fact: So ever since I wrote down my plot outline for this story I have had plans for this particular chapter. Detailed plans as to what would happen and how it would happen. But then I got distracted and it took me so long to finally sit down and write this I had more time to think. My initial idea was completely and utterly scrapped and you get this chapter instead. I cringe a bit at the initial idea and think this chapter ultimately worked out much better than the debacle I had planned. So yay! Sometimes procrastination is for the greater good! 
> 
> Thank you for reading!

“Feliciteeeeeeee” Iris squealed gleefully clinging onto Felicity’s arm and tugging at it like an over excited toddler. “You didn’t tell me Oliver Queen was so domestic and could cook like this. Oh my God he just got soooo much hotter.”

Standing beside Iris with an annoyed look on his face, Barry was faithfully stacking plates one on top of the other carefully as if not to be outshone by Oliver’s competent domesticity. The man in question had gone back into the kitchen to construct and plate his dessert.

“Aww don’t say that, you’ll hurt Barry’s feelings,” Felicity giggled. “Barry’s got his good points. And he sings!”

Barry shot Felicity a dirty look. “Don’t forget I have dirt on you too,” he muttered darkly.

“I don’t know why you get so touchy when we bring up your singing Barry. You have a lovely voice,” Iris smiled fondly at her fiancé.

“Who sings?” Oliver asked, making a graceful entrance from the kitchen and setting down three plates of desserts before heading back for the fourth. 

“Start eating guys before it melts,” Oliver instructed as he came back and placed the last plate in front of Felicity.

“What do you have there Felicity?” Iris asked taking a curious peek at Felicity’s plate.

“We all have citrus cheesecake mousse, compressed strawberry, coconut sorbet and biscuit crumble. Felicity has Strawberry Pie with vanilla ice cream because she has tacky taste buds,” Oliver teased, leaning over to give her a nip on the nose. 

“Hey I am just a fan of a big proper dessert. I always feel like I’ve hardly had any dessert even when I demolish a whole plate of one of your fancy creations. I need a big piece of pie with a giant scoop of ice cream.”

“This dessert tastes amazing Oliver,” Iris gushed between elegant bites. Barry nodded enthusiastically in agreement while shovelling in large mouthfuls of dessert, demolishing his plate in less than a minute. He proceeded to eye Felicity’s piece of pie longingly.

“Would you like a piece of pie Barry?” Oliver asked kindly, seeing the pining look in Barry’s eyes. 

“Give him two pieces,” Felicity chuckled. “Barry has hollow legs. Eats thrice as much as the rest of us and looks like a beanpole.”

“I would have given you some pie if I’d known,” Oliver said apologetically. “I’m thinking of expanding Verdant in the future to include a fine dining restaurant so I always try out new ideas when I cook for friends.”

“Oh that dessert was delicious,” Barry chirped enthusiastically. “Say do you have anymore? I wouldn’t mind a few more serves of that dessert. You can just pile it up on the plate, no need to plate it properly.” He looked thoughtful for a moment before adding, “I could do with a piece of pie as well though. It smells really good.”

A few minutes later Oliver returned with a large plate full of the dessert components slapped on in piles like Barry had requested. Barry beamed his thanks and proceeded to tuck in happily.

“Remind me to give you guys a frozen strawberry pie before you head off.” Seeing Barry and Iris’s puzzled faces he added pointing to Felicity, “This one really loves pie so I make a few frozen fruit ones in bulk and keep them in the freezer for when she decides she wants pie suddenly and the fruit is not in season.”

“Awww what did I do to deserve you and pie on the go?” Felicity giggled leaning over for a kiss, quite forgetting for a moment that Barry and Iris were present.

Oliver slid his hand over her tummy and gave it a fond pat. “When you’re pregnant I promise to keep a minimum rotation of three pies constantly so you can have a pie buffet to chose from when your cravings hit.” 

The moment the words left his mouth he regretted them. Iris and Barry froze and Felicity look like a deer in the headlights. 

“Felicity and I used to date,” Barry suddenly piped up, his little statement catching everyone’s attention. Felicity shook her head in horror while Iris let out an amused chuckle. 

“What?” Oliver asked not sure whether he was feeling shocked by Barry’s declaration or from his own seconds earlier.

“We met at a joint Star Labs and Palmer Tech conference for plebs and hit it off. A few weeks later she visited me in Central City for a tour of Star Labs. We went on a few dates and I introduced Felicity to Iris. They hit it off and Iris told me that she thought Felicity and I made a cute couple. I walked Felicity to the station and we kissed only it was really weird like kissing my sister or maybe fraternal twin so we both agreed never to go there again. You know at the engagement party people were all surprised and acting like it’s weird Iris and I fell in love because we were both raised by Joe but I’m telling you man, there is nothing sibling-ish between Iris and I. Felicity and I on the other hand, totally siblings. So creepy.” 

Barry opened his mouth to launch into another spiel but Iris grabbed his arm firmly before saying politely, “Barry let’s not bore Oliver the details of our pathetic youth anymore.” 

“It was a dark time that we generally don’t talk about,” Felicity added solemnly, before letting out a burst of giggles. She was determined to ignore Oliver’s comment and brush aside what had just happened. “We were such goody goodies Oliver. I swear this is a huuuuuge scandal for the three of us. The fact that we’ve both kissed Barry.” She made exaggerated gagging noises at a slightly miffed looking Barry. 

***

“That was fun. We should do that again,” Oliver said as he stacked the dishwasher (Oliver was very particular about how the dishes were stacked) while Felicity hand washed the items that were not dishwasher safe. It was one of the few tasks that she was allowed to perform in the kitchen, besides unpacking the dishwasher after a cycle was complete. When he was in a particularly generous mood Oliver would let her chop fruit and vegetables. 

Barry’s little revelation had taken the spotlight off Oliver’s verbal gaffe and the mood had lightened considerably and returned to normal afterwards. However he could feel the tension and uncertainly in the air the moment Barry and Iris left for their train. Felicity was shutting down right before his very eyes as she made feeble attempts to act as normal as possible, resulting in some very stilted moments of cheeriness followed by bouts of silence where he could practically hear her try to think her way out of this relationship with him. 

“You’re such a Martha Stewart,” Felicity smiled as she dried the knives and placed them back on the knife rack. “We should get you a lifestyle website where you can put up videos of yourself doing cooking demonstrations. Can you imagine the hits you’ll get and then you can hock off your own line of tea towels, mixing bowls and cookware.”

If he didn’t know Felicity better he would have told himself he was just being silly and that there was nothing to worry about. He wanted to believe that she had ignored his comment or was going to let it go but he knew her better than that. He waited for the other shoe to drop and it did. 

“Hey I’m just going to head to the office for a few hours to go over some documents. I’ll be back tonight.” She gave him a light pat on his shoulder, her fingers not lingering like they usually did.

“Are you going to conveniently come back when I leave for Verdant and then be asleep when I return and oh I don’t know maybe leave to head to your office on Sunday morning before I’m awake?” Oliver asked calmly, gently taking hold of her hand and entwining his fingers around hers. She turned her head to look away but he used his free hand to softly tilt her face towards him. 

“Oliver…” she pleaded, her eyes starting to glisten. 

“You’re going to run aren’t you? You’re working on it right now. You just don’t know what to do because your life is so entangled with mine and unfortunately for you we share a life now so you can’t quite work out how to take off yet.”

“Oliver, I’m so very very sorry. Everything is my fault. All of this,” she gestured wildly as the tears started falling freely down her face. “I made a mistake and I never should have let it get as far as this. I don’t know what I was thinking. They…Barry tried to warn me but I didn’t listen. I was happy and it made me selfish. I kept telling myself that you knew where we stood, that you didn’t want any of those things with me. You’ve never wanted those things with anyone else Oliver and I am the last person you should be looking for those things with. You always said this was a bit of fun and that you didn’t want anything serious and I believed you because I wanted to. You said…” she drifted off and tried to wrench her hand away from him.

“Felicity I lied!” His voice was louder than he expected causing her to jump. He softened his voice and made a move toward her. 

“I lied. Not intentionally at first because I didn’t think that I was capable of feeling anything like this about anybody. But then I fell for you so hard and I knew that the only way to keep you was to let you believe whatever you wanted to believe. I don’t regret it and I wouldn’t change anything if I had to do it again because these last few months with you have been the happiest in my life and I will never regret them no matter what.”

“Oliver, this is a big mistake. Let’s just take a step back and…”

“No!” he declared firmly, putting his hands on her shoulders, pulling her close to him. She didn’t fight him. She merely buried her head into his chest, sobbing softly. “We can’t take a step back. I can’t take a step back because it’s too late for that now. God Felicity why would I buy a six-bedroom house in the suburbs if this was just a fling. On some level you must have known.” 

“If something happens to me it’s going to destroy you and I…I never wanted to hurt you. I can’t bear the thought of hurting you.” 

“Shhh honey,” he wrapped his arms around her tightly and tenderly stroked her curls. “If you leave now you’ll destroy me. It’s too late to do anything now. I’m yours and I’m completely and hopelessly in love with you so unless you know a time traveller who can undo our first meeting I don’t think anything you do is going to spare me the heartache.”

“How do we fix this? How do we fix my incredibly poor decision making?” Felicity sniffled into his shirt. 

“Marry me?”

“What?” She pulled her face away from his chest and looked up at him. Her eyes were puffy, her nose was red like a cherry tomato but she was without a doubt the cutest thing he had ever seen.

“That’s how we fix it. Marry me!” Oliver grinned broadly at her. The more he said it out loud the more the idea made sense to him. He was crazy in love with her and he knew she loved him back with the same intensity and fervor. They were both the right age and she had reached the pinnacle of her career. She had nothing left to prove and she would never have to worry that her success was the result of any nepotism. 

“I am too far gone when it comes to you Felicity. I love you. You’ll destroy me either way. So just marry me. Give me the one thing that I want the most in this world. No one knows the future Felicity. Yes you might succumb to your illness and leave me heartbroken. I might get hit by a bus and leave you heartbroken. Or we might both live until our 80s when I’ll be as bald as a boiled egg and that perky bottom of yours will look like two pancakes that have seen better days.” 

Felicity burst out laughing at his last comment. “You’re a smooth operator Oliver Queen,” she finally declared when she had sufficiently recovered from her laughter. “Only you can turn my wanting to end things into a marriage proposal and convince me to marry you.”

“Is that a yes?” Oliver asked incredulously. He had always been fearless and supremely confident but even he couldn’t believe that Felicity, his big-brained Felicity, who carefully planned and considered the pros and cons of every action she took, was going to say yes to him. Truth be told he had fully planned to follow her around relentlessly until she realized that he was never giving up on her. But then again she had never been particularly rational when it came to him, he thought smugly. 

“How many months of stalking am I saving myself by saying yes now?” Felicity teased.

“I’m impressed that you know where I stand on this,” he replied kissing the top of her head.

“I…I feel so foolish. I guess I’ve always known that you love me. Somewhere along the way I fell in love with you and I was just happy lying to myself because I wasn’t a big enough person to do the right thing by you and I didn’t want to lose you and then…”

“Shh just say yes Felicity. Tell me you love me and say yes.”

“I love you and YES.”

“That’s my girl.” He picked her up and swung her around giddily. 

***

It was all smiles at what should have been the most awkward lunch of the decade as resident Programming Princess, Felicity Smoak broke bread with her ex Ray Palmer and his girlfriend Caitlin Snow. Dashing Oliver Queen was nowhere to be seen but his presence was felt in the form of what looks to be a massive five-carat cushion cut diamond engagement ring. Take Five Magazine brings you exclusive pictures of Felicity Smoak proudly showing off her ring to her old squeeze and his current squeeze. It was hugs and smiles galore as Ray and Caitlin congratulated Felicity on her engagement. Looks like they are on the guest list for the wedding of the century.

While Felicity Smoak was spotted having lunch with friends and taking a relaxed hands off approach to her wedding plans, it appears that former playboy Oliver Queen has turned out to be quite the Groomzilla in the making. The smitten billionaire, who is now sadly off the market, (don’t weep girls she’s a genius who looks like an Angel, us mere mortals never stood a chance) was seen participating in a heated argument with his sister Thea Queen over flower arrangements with bystanders reportedly overhearing Thea say “For the love of God Ollie go get a life and stop trying to make Plumerias work in the flower displays.” It was also reported that the groom-to-be argued back crossly, citing that Ms. Smoak smelled like the sweet smelling flowers renowned for their fragrance.

The billionaire has also been seen procuring large amounts of stationary and baking supplies. Is Oliver Queen planning to bake his own wedding cake and make his own invitations? Wonders will never cease. Take Five will aim to provide you with photographic evidence of this should it exist.


	11. All My Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halloo!
> 
> Finally I update! Hope you like it!
> 
> On another note, have we all recovered from 520 yet?????
> 
> OMG!!!!! IT WAS AMAZING WASN'T IT!!!!!! *squeals like a maniac*

“Hey Partner!” Ray popped his head in beaming cheerfully at Felicity who looked up from her reports and flashed him an equally enthusiastic smile.

“You just looked at the figures didn’t you? Whew! We did it! For now,” Felicity mock wiped her brow with relief. 

“Stocks up by 20% after the announcement,” Ray declared happily. “High five?” 

“You’re such a dag,” Felicity giggled but indulged him in the high five nevertheless. 

“You did it Felicity! You were the one who managed to discover and locked down Curtis Holt and get Palmer Tech the rights to that spinal implant and unlimited power battery he created. You found a way to reduce the cost of production and get the board to sign off on it, bypassing Dennis in the process. This was your baby from start to finish and the fact that PQ Labs will be producing this chip is the icing on the cake. As soon as the announcement was made stock prices started to climb.”

“Well what we aren’t going to make initially from gouging people we will make eventually due to the sheer volume of the sales of the battery technology which will subsidise the cost of the chip. Plus Dennis underestimated the effect good publicity has on stock prices, the evil bastard,” Felicity pulled a face as she spoke about Dennis. There was no love lost between them and Felicity often felt that if she were ever inclined to pull a power play one day it would be to merely get the satisfaction of squashing Dennis once and for all.

“The Queens are pleased,” Ray offered a placating smile, hoping the mention of her soon to be in laws would prevent Felicity from launching into a tirade about Dennis and ruin their moment of victory. There were very few things in life that Felicity hated, she was a loving sunshine and rainbows type of person but Kangaroos and Dennis were two things on her blacklist.

“Oh yes they would be. Robert mentioned that the wedding would be good for stock prices too. He didn’t hesitate to mention how it would have a more positive impact on QC while Palmer Tech may not fare so well. Needless to say Oliver was not too pleased during that lunch.” Felicity wrinkled her nose. Robert Queen was an astute businessman, sometimes too shrewd for his own good and his comments regarding their up coming marriage and the effects on stock prices had really gotten Oliver’s back up. Felicity being a prudent business woman could logically see Robert’s point of view, however it didn’t mean that she was happy to see the man she loved get upset. 

Their impending marriage was everything to Oliver and Felicity knew he had been constantly stressed that she would think he was marrying her in spite her illness because she was the perfect candidate on paper to continue the legacy for the Queen Empire. She had assured him time and time again she knew why he was marrying her (mainly that he was just a fool in love who was crazy about her) and that he shouldn’t stress because he happened to want to marry someone his family approved of. 

“Felicity, I need to ask something,” Ray pulled up a chair and looked at her earnestly. 

“Sure, you can ask me anything,” she responded giving him her full attention from across her desk.

“Are you planning to leave Palmer Tech for QC? One day? I know you’re marrying into the Queen family so I expect it but I would really want to hear it straight from you even if it’s one day in the future.”

Felicity smiled at him from across her desk and shook her head. “Honestly? No. I know I am Vice President here and you are and probably will always be CEO but I feel like I have more ties with this place. I worked my way up as a lowly intern, saw stock prices rise on my watch, launched and headed countless projects here. This company bears your name but in a way it will always be my baby Ray. I don’t want something that I married into and have to bow down to the way the Queen family works. I’d rather continue working here with you, just like we have all these years.” She gave a little giggle before adding, “Besides it’s probably better for Oliver’s soul if I stayed at Palmer Tech.”

“So no taking off with Oliver one day to form your own empire?” Ray teased.

“That I can’t rule out, but since he is heavily into building his hospitality empire I don’t really see how a Club Kingpin and a Programming Princess could merge business models. Yes they called us that in the latest article! Don’t you dare laugh Ray!”

“Glad to know I’ll still have you in my life,” Ray smiled a wistful smile at her.

“Friends forever,” Felicity responded softly. “But I must warn you Ray that one day I will make a move to get rid of Dennis when I’ve finally had enough.”

“I might do it before you!” Ray quipped back, rolling his eyes at the mention of Dennis and suddenly just like that the awkward moment had passed. 

“You two fantasising about taking out Dennis again,” Oliver whispered conspiratorially at the door, sneaking up on them out of nowhere causing both Ray and Felicity to jump and peer around nervously as if they were expecting Dennis to materialise any minute. 

“Relax guys and stop acting like he’s hiding under your desks!” Oliver laughed. He had been privy to many many rants about Dennis from Felicity and the few times he had joined Ray and Felicity to finalise PQ Labs he had also been subject to their fantasies of getting rid of Dennis. 

“You’re back! I was supposed to meet you this afternoon for the cake tasting. I didn’t think I’d see you until later. I’ve missed you.” Felicity’s gaze lingered on him lovingly. He could see that she longed to sprint out of that chair into his arms but hesitated to do so because Ray was also there.

Far from being jealous of Ray, Oliver had come to discover the one emotion he felt whenever he faced the guy. Guilt. A certain part of Oliver felt that if he had never met Felicity, she would have been the one for Ray. As it stands he felt like he had swooped in from nowhere and stolen the other man’s happiness. Logically he knew Ray was seeing Dr. Caitlin Snow who was brilliant in her own right and had a temperament that was surprisingly complimentary to that of Ray’s enthusiastic boy scout demeanour, yet he could never quite shake the guilt when he was in the same room as the man.

“I came back early to congratulate you on the successful announcement and huge stock price jump,” Oliver explained, trying to diffuse the somewhat awkward atmosphere. “I was going to take both of you out to lunch to celebrate. Give you a sneak peek of Verdant Dining’s spring menu.”

“I actually have lunch plans with Dennis the Devil himself,” Ray declared, getting up from his chair.

“Oh Ray that’s so unpleasant,” Felicity said sympathetically. 

“I’ve got a few things I want the board to sign off on quickly and today is the day for it. You guys go and enjoy lunch. I’ll take one for the team today Felicity. Oliver I’m going to take Caitlin to Verdant Dining next Friday. We want that Snow Egg dessert than you make. Whatever version of it you’re up to now. Say are you ever planning to write a cookbook and release that recipe one day?” Ray asked hopefully.

“You’ll have the best table and it’ll be on the house,” Oliver replied quickly, conveniently dodging the question about his recipe. It was the reason Verdant Dining was booked out two months at a time.

“Good to see you again Oliver,” Ray shook hands with Oliver and flashed Felicity another smile. “Have fun Felicity and enjoy your cake tasting! Bring me samples tomorrow!” 

As soon as Ray was a safe distance away, Felicity leapt out of her chair and threw herself into Oliver’s arms, snuggling into his chest as she sighed contently. She felt cold when he wasn’t around. Literally a chill of sorts. It was heavenly to be wrapped in his arms again. 

“Hey, hey I missed you too,” Oliver said gently, tightening his arms around her.

“How did it go in Central City?” Felicity asked. “Sorry I couldn’t go to check the site with you. I couldn’t skip that particular presentation and press conference.”   
“I’ve put in an offer on the site. Shouldn’t be an issue purchasing that site. Tell you more about it over lunch?” He couldn’t help but lean down to rub noses with her.

“Can we just go home? Have lunch at home?” Felicity murmured, smiling up at him.

“Just lunch?” Oliver teased, leaning in closer so their lips were almost touching.

“Maybe a late lunch,” Felicity whispered, leaning in to kiss him, a long lingering kiss. “Let’s go home first.”

***

“You okay?” Oliver asked, taking his eyes off the road for a moment as he studied Felicity’s face. “You look tired.”

“That’s because I didn’t get a nap in after our…um vigorous activities,” she laughed at him. “You know I usually need a nap after you’re done with me.” She reached over and gave him a reassuring pat on the thigh.

“I’ve been thinking,” Oliver said as he made a left turn, “I’ve been thinking that maybe we should delay the honeymoon. Get you sorted for surgery after the wedding and then we can go anywhere we want.”

“Nooooo,” Felicity protested her eyes going wide. “Who gets married and then books themself in for surgery? I’m fine, the meds are working fine now that they have adjusted the dosage. Please just let me have my honeymoon?”

“I should take better care of you,” Oliver sighed. “I’m sorry I got carried away Felicity.”

“Don’t you dare apologise for sexing me up,” Felicity sat up straight in her car seat and stared at him incredulously. “I’ve been driving myself crazy preparing for the announcement, locking in suppliers. This has nothing to do with how much sex I have with you. Will you please stop this line of thinking? Besides, I think I look rather rosy after all the sex don’t you?” She batted her eyelids at him and gave him an impish smile.

Oliver pulled into the car park of the venue, parked the car and cupped her face with both of his hands, his face intense as his eyes roamed over her face. Even months in Felicity still felt shivers running down her spine whenever he looked at her like that. To think that all that intense emotion and need was lavished on her.

“I love you so much Felicity. I sometimes can’t believe I have you and that you agreed to marry me. I just want to wrap you in my arms and hide somewhere in a bubble with you forever.”

“And we’ll get a chance to do that for a little while on our honeymoon. Stop worrying ok. I’m fine. Besides wasn’t I the one playing the death and doom card a few months ago. Why are you so wigged out all of a sudden?” She threaded her arms around his shoulders and pressed her forehead against his.

“Sometimes when you get everything that you’ve ever wanted, you just worry that something will yank it away,” Oliver murmured.

“That’s not going to happen,” Felicity assured him softly. “Sometimes people are incredibly fortunate and dreams do come true.”

***

“Those cakes were not very good,” Felicity pulled a face as she recalled tasting one sickly sweet creation after another. “Maybe that’s the point though. You go to a wedding, the bride and groom spend a fortune on the wedding cake and it’s dry and way too sweet. Maybe we just need to settle on one that looks pretty and make peace with it.”

“Felicity,” Oliver clucked with disapproval and Felicity grinned as she could see his inner Groomzilla emerge. She kicked off her shoes and tucked herself into his lap on the couch, her small frame fitting neatly into his larger one.

“Tell you what, why don’t you dream up whatever cake you like and get your team at Verdant Dining to bake it for you.”

“That’s what I was going to do all along. I knew nothing was going to impress me.”

“Then why did you make me eat nasty sweet cake for two hours,” Felicity threw her hands up in frustration.

“Because that’s all part of the wedding experience. It’s an important activity that couples should participate in before the wedding. We wouldn’t want to look back one day when we’re old and wrinkled and tell the grandchildren we didn’t go and try to choose a wedding cake,” Oliver replied firmly as if this was the most logical thing in the world.

“We could have had a nap and more sex!” Felicity chastised him before breaking into a fit of giggles. 

“There will always be naps and sex but only one wedding,” Oliver glared at her, looking incredibly offended.

“Awww baby I’m sorry I mock. I know this is your big moment. I will support you in anyway that I can. Did you end up with the flower arrangements you wanted?” There had been some tension, actually a lot of tension between Oliver and Thea over the flower arrangements and displays for the rehearsal dinner and wedding reception. 

Thea, bright, bubbly and affectionate Thea whom Felicity had loved almost at once, had taken it upon herself to be Felicity’s sister and help out with the wedding. The two had gotten along swimmingly. Felicity was a girly girl who loved pretty things but her head was often lost in code, projections and reports. She had loved the way Thea would show up to their dinner dates with her organised wedding binders and neatly categorised choices for Felicity to pick out her preferences. Felicity always had a preference and Thea loved the fact that Felicity seldom quibbled over anything that was presented to her.

They were like a well-oiled machine until Oliver took it upon himself to fight over every single detail with Thea. Details that Thea alleged he had no business fighting over. When confronted by both Queen siblings, Felicity had merely smiled at them fondly and told them she loved them both and just wanted to marry Oliver. She didn’t mind whatever it was they wanted as long as it made them happy and there was a mint chip dessert option in the wedding menu.   
Felicity’s easygoing attitude only seemed to exacerbate the sibling conflict.

“I fought her over the ferns and I won,” Oliver declared triumphantly. “But I let her have final say on the linen.”

“Who would have thought Oliver Queen, ex play boy and man about town would be fighting over wedding napkins,” Felicity teased.

“Only because I’m marrying you Felicity. You know that right?” A worried frown crossed over his face. 

“I know. I was just teasing you, you big lug! I love you. I love that you’re so into all the wedding details and that you want to make it a perfect day for me but I’d marry you anywhere and any time as long as it’s you.” Felicity curled up contently, her head pressed against his chest as she could hear the steady thumping of his heartbeat. 

***

“You’ve lost weight,” Iris said almost accusingly as the seamstress pinched in a bit more fabric before pinning down the seam decidedly. 

“I haven’t been trying!” Felicity defended herself automatically, a reaction that was almost second nature to her whenever Iris and Barry clucked or fussed over her health. “Besides I think I look pretty good!” 

She gave a sneaky little twirl as the seamstress turned away from her to thread a needle. The frothy, floaty Vera Wang tulle creation swirled along with her, making her look and feel every bit the fairy princess that she secretly longed to be all those years ago in her youth. 

“You look amazing but that’s not the point. Are you sure you’re ok health wise? You’ve been up to so much, with all the wedding planning, your recent launch at Palmer Tech. I worry about you.” Iris shifted around, peering at her friend suspiciously, scrutinising her up and down. 

“Ugh not you too! I’ve been fine for three years! Why are you all hovering around like I am suddenly on deaths door?”

“We worry honey. You’re juggling a million balls at the same time and I think you need to slow down.”

“Let me get through the Hen’s Night with my mother and I will sail off into the sunset with Oliver for two blissful months,” Felicity said dreamily before pausing to shudder as she thought of what her mother probably had in store for her. 

In order to appease her mother and further diffuse any tensions that came from Felicity refusing to let Donna plan the wedding, Felicity had agreed to let Donna plan a Hen’s night. She knew this was possibly going to be the most painful night of her life and that it was going to take a miracle for her to survive it but that was the price she was willing to pay to avoid having her wedding ambushed with feathers and glitter. 

“I’m looking forward to that,” Iris laughed. “Donna can party like no one else! Hey do you know what the boys are up to tonight?”

“Barry is going to Verdant to dance up a storm.” Felicity giggled at the thought of her lanky friend sashaying around Verdant. “Actually I think it’s more likely that Barry is going to park himself at a table in Verdant Dining and order everything off the menu.”

“Isn’t it cute that they are friends?” Iris smiled as she thought of the odd couple that was Barry and Oliver. Barry was so inherently dorky and awkward in comparison to Oliver’s ultra cool “nothing impresses me much” demeanour.

“I wonder how Barry will fare at Oliver’s Bachelor party. Especially since Tommy is organising it,” Felicity laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shameless plug: If you enjoy my writing please read this Olicity one shot that I wrote in response to the summary released for Episode 522.
> 
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/10760112/chapters/23861511


	12. Standalone Chapter No plot movement - Oliver's Bachelor Party READ WARNING BEFORE YOU READ THIS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Guys!
> 
> WARNING:
> 
> This chapter is pure smut and a tad explicit. Plus Oliver gets a little rough so if you want to stick to your super sweet Oliver of previous chapters you should probably skip this one! 
> 
> It has no bearing on the rest of the story plot wise. You will miss nothing if you skip it so feel free to skip it if this is not your thing. Plus I am a terrible smut writer! Consider yourselves warned!!!
> 
> I was just in a filthy mood when I wrote this (aren't we all after watching 520?).

“Have I ever told you you’re the only woman Ollie’s dated that I’ve ever approved of?” Tommy Merlyn’s mischievous face popped through Felicity’s door, causing her to give a little startled jump as she looked up from the reports she was reading.

“Thomas how did you get past security?” Felicity wagged a disapproving finger at him. Felicity and Tommy had become friends. It was very hard not to like Tommy and his irrepressible ways. Felicity likened him to Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up and took great delight in going out of her way to express her disapproval at his antics while secretly chuckling on the inside.

“Your ex let me in. Say Smoaky Eyes you really do have a type. Lighten Ray’s hair and from the back you couldn’t tell which one is Oliver and which one is Ray.” Tommy plopped himself down comfortably on the chair opposite Felicity’s desk and grinned at her.

“That statement makes it sound like you’ve have been examining my fiancé and my business partner from behind far too often,” Felicity snorted, closing the report she was reading and laying it aside neatly. She knew Tommy well enough to know that she wasn’t going to get a moment’s peace until she heard him out about whatever it was he wanted. “What can I do for you Tommy?”

“I thought it was Thomas just a minute ago?”

“I may revert back to Thomas if you do something I disapprove of within the next 30 minutes but I will give you the benefit of the doubt for now. So what brings you here?”

“Can I close the door? Your office is sound proof right?” Tommy whispered, glancing around suspiciously.

Felicity gave an exaggerated sigh and motioned for him to close the door. “I’m going to regret this. Now what is it that you want from me Tommy? No I will not hack into Laurel’s phone to find her schedule for you!”

“This has nothing to do with me,” Tommy sniffed, making an exaggerated attempt to look hurt. “This is about what you can do for Ollie. Tell me Smoaky Eyes what are you doing on the night of Ollie’s bachelor party? Yours is the week before isn’t it?”

Felicity ignored his annoying nickname and answered him. “I’m going to log into work and maybe read a few reports, send a few emails. Then it will be one blissful night of mint chip ice cream, a few packets of chips and a date with Netflix. Why do you ask?”

“You love Ollie right Felicity? You’d do anything to make him happy?” Tommy wheedled. Felicity narrowed her eyes suspiciously. He seldom called her by her first name anymore unless he really wanted something badly.

“What has my love for Oliver got to do with his bachelor’s party? That's your domain! You plan whatever crazy thing you plan. I trust him 100%. I haven’t made any restrictions so I’m not sure why you’re here acting all suspicious Tommy.” Felicity narrowed her eyes at him with distrust. He was up to something. 

“Felicity, my dear Felicity, love of Ollie’s life. You know he’s crazy about you right? Spends all of his time mooning about you. So here I am thinking that he’s not going to wind down and enjoy his bachelor party. It’s his last night as a free man and he’s not going to let himself go and party. You’ve ruined him. He’s obsessed with you. So there is only one way that I can think of to fix this. Hear me out. It’ll be memorable and hilarious.” Tommy looked absolutely thrilled with himself for whatever awful idea he had cooked up.

“Memorable and hilarious by your definition sounds like a disaster in the making,” Felicity sighed. “I don’t know why I’m even listening to you but go ahead. Make it concise!”

***

“TOMMY!!!! TOMMY LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!! I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU DO ANYTHING I ASKED YOU NOT TO DO I WILL KILL YOU!!!!!!!” Oliver bellowed, banging on the door of the penthouse suite that he had been locked in. The day had started harmlessly enough with a bunch of them going Go Karting, stopping for lunch, then heading off to play Laser Tag (Barry got shot multiple times in the back by everyone) before grabbing dinner and drinks. Although Oliver had missed Felicity desperately and wished that he could see her, even if only for a few minutes, the day planned by Tommy had turned out to be fun and very well coordinated with no nefarious surprises. 

That was until now where he found himself trapped in the penthouse suite of the Shangri La unable to dial reception or anywhere else in the hotel. No one was picking up his calls to let him out of this goddamn suite. Tommy had paid them off and paid them well it seemed. Suddenly Oliver felt a blind panic. This was Tommy Merlyn who had trapped him here. God knows what he had up his sleeve. Oliver should have known where this was headed. He had been lulled into a false sense of security by the innocuous daytime activities. 

Letting out a frustrated sigh Oliver gave his hair a vexed tug before sitting down on the giant king sized bed, staring at his phone, debating whether to call Felicity and interrupt her night in so he could ask her to come and rescue him. To be fair nothing had happened yet and it seemed like a gross over reaction to ring Felicity and tattle right away. 

On the other hand this was Tommy Merlyn he was dealing with and something unsavoury was guaranteed to take place. Oliver reached over and grabbed his phone, intending to dial Felicity when the door clicked open.

A petite lithe figure in a red heels and a black trench coat stepped into the room. Her face was obscured by red wide brimmed hat and all he could see was a mass of shiny straight brown hair. He was going to murder Tommy when he got out of here. This was some sort of sick joke, sending in an escort who looked like one of the girls he used to sleep with before Felicity. For a brief moment Oliver considered making a break for the door but the brunette shut the door behind her with a decisive click and proceeded to shake off her coat, revealing the fact that she was wearing nothing but a flimsy red lace bra that barely concealed anything and a matching red lace thong.

“Miss, there has been a HUGE mistake and I need you to GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!” Oliver ran to pick up her coat off the floor and draped it over her before trying to usher her out. He took great care to even avoid looking at her. 

“Mr. Queen the door’s locked. There’s no way out of here. So why don’t you just relax and let me make you comfortable Mr Queen,” she cooed in a voice that sounded vaguely familiar. He would have stop to ponder where he had heard that voice before but as it stands he was far too distressed. 

“Miss I’m going to need you to get out of this room right now. There has been a mistake. My friend has played a very bad, VERY INAPPROPRIATE joke on me.” Oliver raised both arms out as if to ward her away from him. 

“Mister Queen I was told that you would protest,” she purred in a sultry voice as she continued to slink up to him. “Relax Mr. Queen. I swear I am the epitome of discretion. I’m here to make any dirty fantasy of yours come true for one night and your fiancé need never know about it ever. So tell me Mr. Queen. What is it you want from me?”

“What I want is for you to leave Miss or for you to let me out of this room,” Oliver shot back, his temper starting to rise. This was beyond a joke now. Tommy had outright disrespected his wishes and disrespected Felicity, sending this scantily clad hooker up to offer him sexual favours.

“Mr. Queen, you’re soooooo uptight. Let me show you how to have fun again. I can give you anything you want Mr. Queen. Anything at all,” she purred, making an attempt to swipe at his crotch.

It was at that moment; Oliver decided he had, had enough. He reached over to grab his phone and began to dial Felicity’s number. “I told you nicely that no means no Miss but clearly you will not listen so I am going to get my WIFE on the phone and she will come down here to rescue me and if you know what’s good for yourself you will leave this place before you incur Felicity’s wrath. You may not respect me but my wife is not the type of woman you want to mess with!”

The phone began to dial and to Oliver’s utter shock and amazement Felicity’s melodic ring tone could be heard throughout the room. The escort standing in front of him let out a few strangled squeaks before pulling the hat off her face. It was Felicity! In a brunette wig! The naughty little minx stood there before him, half naked in barely there underwear made from scraps of lace, laughing so hard at his bewildered face that tears were streaming down her cheeks. 

“Oh Oliver, you should have seen your face. You looked so hilarious, threatening to call me up to teach the escort a lesson. Oh I’m so sorry Oliver but that was so funny! Tommy wanted to give you one last shock and this was the only way he could think to do it.” Felicity fanned herself, taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm down and suppress her giggles.

Oliver was at a complete loss for words as he continued to stare at her crossly. Her toned slim body was writhing around as she continued to laugh at him, giving him a glimpse of her delicious ass cheeks. If he had bothered to take a look he would have recognized that ass anywhere. He stayed silent, waiting for her laughter to subside as he took in the view before him, glancing her up and down appreciatively.

“Let me get my coat on again and I’ll take you back downstairs to Tommy. They’re all waiting for you downstairs. Tommy’s hired out an entire cinema for you boys to watch action movies together. I’m so sorry Oliver! You’ll look back one day and find it funny I promise! We can tell this story to the children when they are adults!” She flashed him a bright smile and stood on her tippy toes to give him a kiss on both cheeks before turning to pick up her coat. Oliver’s hand grabbed her roughly and yanked her back toward him.

“Who said you could leave?” he growled as he loomed over her. “You’re a present for me tonight aren’t you? So I expect you to stay and now what was it you were offering earlier? Make any dirty fantasy of mine come true?” He pulled her up close and pressed his hard body against hers. Felicity could feel his erection protruding through his pants as he pressed against her. Suddenly she felt a flush of heat across her face as her legs wanted to give way like jelly.

“They’re…they’re expecting you downstairs,” she faltered as she moistened her lips before making one final weak effort to move away from him.

“Felicity, I don’t give a fuck what they are expecting,” Oliver growled, his hands moving possessively to her waist, drawing her closer. “Now I was promised that I would get anything I wanted in this room tonight and I have a thing for a certain pretty little blond with a tight body and an ass that I could spend weeks worshipping. So let’s make it clear, neither you nor I are leaving this room tonight baby.”

The growly way he said baby sent shivers down her spine. Felicity swallowed and nodded, suddenly feeling nervous but oh so turned on at the same time.

“Now let’s remove this ridiculous thing shall we?” With one quick movement he plucked the brunette wig off her head and threw it across the room. He then pulled out the hair tie that had been keeping her hair neatly in place, letting her curls cascade down her shoulders. “That’s much better. That pleases me Felicity.”

“Anything else I can do to please you?” Felicity whispered back sultrily, her hands moving to unbutton his shirt. He caught her hands and stopped her, locking them behind her back before kissing her roughly until her lips felt swollen and bruised. 

“You don’t get to make any moves, you are here to please me, do you understand?” His gaze raked up and down her body with almost ruthless intent. Felicity nodded, feeling like she was about to combust with desire. Oliver had seduced her and teased her plenty of times but he had always been gentle, coaxing, teasing. This was a possessive, aggressive side of him she had never encountered. It thrilled her and turned her on in ways she couldn’t begin to understand. 

“Oliver,” she mewled pathetically and made a tentative move to kiss him. Oliver took control, plundering her mouth with hard possessive kisses. She reached up and wound her arms around his neck letting out contented little moans as he continued to kiss her roughly, his hands moving down to the narrow curve of her waist, the plain of her taunt stomach and down lower still before settling outside her entrance. He brushed a finger against her entrance, finding her core with an unerring accuracy that made her body shiver and tingle with pleasure. He continued to torment her through the delicate lace of her thong before Felicity felt like she could take it no longer and let out a frustrated whimper. 

He shot her a predatory grin before spinning her around roughly pushing her towards the bed. Felicity stumbled, and was fumbling around to steady herself when she felt his strong hands pull at her thong, ripping the delicate fabric. Suddenly her lower half was bare as the lace fabric of her thong fell away and before she could register what had happened she felt him suddenly thrusting into her wet entrance as she cried out in rapture, her slick walls clinging onto him, the friction sending waves of ecstasy down her spine. 

Felicity felt him push deep inside her and she cried out in pleasure with each thrust as she gripped onto the bedding in an attempt to steady herself. “Do not come,” he whispered, his breath hot against her ear. “Your body is mine tonight, for me to use. This is not about you so don’t you dare come,” he hissed at her, causing her to spiral further as he continued thrusting relentlessly into her. The next few minutes were a blur. Waves and waves of pleasure crashed over her as he continued to thrust into her. Felicity bit down on her lip, desperately fighting the fire that was burning in her core, desperately trying not to come in order to obey him. In one final vicious move, Oliver reached down and pinched her clit brutally causing her to explode with pleasure as her orgasm took over and her walls convulsed around him. He fucked her through her orgasm until she was limp and boneless under him.

He pulled out of her, discarded his shirt and pants and flipped her onto her back before pinning her roughly to the bed. “You are a very very disobedient escort. Didn’t I tell you not to come? Didn’t I tell you this was not about you?” he snapped at her.

“Yes Mr. Queen,” she whimpered at him helplessly sending him off the deep end. There was something about seeing Felicity, his strong, articulate, intelligent Felicity whimper “Yes Mr. Queen” that caused his self control to snap. Oliver nudged her legs apart, reached between her legs, fisted his cock and rubbed it up and down her nether lips, teasing and taunting her before thrusting himself inside her. He buried himself deep inside her and pinned her arms over her head as he began to thrust, deep punishing strokes inside her soft silken walls. 

“Oh my god you are so wet and so tight,” he grunted as he continued to pound into her. “You feel so good Felicity.” Instinctively Felicity wrapped her legs around him as his hips continued to rise and fall against hers. Felicity met him thrust for thrust, burying him even deeper inside her. Their bodies merged, becoming one. Felicity screamed out his name as she exploded a second time with a long, earth shattering pleasure, her walls squeezing and milking him until he could no longer hold onto the control he sought. Oliver came with a shout, screaming her name as she held him tightly against her body, her mouth seeking him out, kissing him – hurried, frenzied, sloppy kisses full of lust and passion. 

***

“Hey,” he said softly, brushing her curls away from her forehead, which was covered with beads of perspiration. He leaned over and kissed her, fluttery feather light kisses, first her forehead, then her nose and finally her lips.

“Hey,” she whispered, smiling up at him shyly as he gazed at her with that tender look of wonder and joy he reserved only for her. She adored that look.

“That was some bachelor party,” he whispered, giving her and equally shy smile as he nuzzled her nose. “Stay the night with me? Please?”

“Yes,” she beamed at him.

“I love you,” he whispered, pulling her into his body and wrapping his arms around her tightly, encasing her in his Oliver cocoon.


	13. Come What May

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Guys
> 
> Finally I update! So sorry it's taken a while but this chapter was a tough one to write! I hope you enjoy it!

“Have you worked on your vows yet?” Oliver asked, looking up from this laptop where he had been typing diligently for the past half hour as Felicity laid next to him on the couch, watching the BBC adaptation of Emma. “I’m just adding some finishing touches to mine,” he added with a hint of smugness as if he were expecting her to confess to not having touched her vows.

Felicity hid her face and smiled to herself. Oliver was a Groomzilla if there ever was one and was a force to be reckoned with if anyone dared cross him about the wedding. Felicity had been the one exception to this, although she noticed he was getting rather antsy about her vows, more specifically whether she had written them or not. After speed reading through a book of vows the celebrant have given them, they had opted to write their own, something which Oliver had dived into with a lot gusto and enthusiasm, much like he had done with everything else wedding related.

“Yup,” Felicity replied casually, flashing him an amused look. She knew he had been dying to heckle her about her vows but had tried his best from going full on Groomzilla at her so her answer was throwing him for a loop just as she had expected. “Finished them a few days after we made the decision to write our own,” she added, feigning surprise as if it were the most natural thing to do.

“You have not! I’ve never seen you work on them! And you’re always at work, doing work work,” Oliver looked at her indignantly, offended at the very idea that she should finish her vows so quickly and way before him.

“What can I say? I’m a fast writer Oliver,” Felicity flashed him an impish grin.

“Are they any good? Because I took weeks to write mine and even now I’m still perfecting them,” Oliver blurted out before having the decency to look a bit ashamed of himself.

“Oliver Queen are you implying that I rushed my vows and that they are inferior to yours?” Felicity sat up and narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m offended!”

“Noooo, nonono not at all. I will love anything that you write, as long as you agree to marry me.” He pulled her back onto his lap and nuzzled her neck. “Can I have a peek at them?”

“You want to read my vows? I thought you wanted to be surprised on the day?” Felicity smiled coyly, knowing exactly where this was heading. Oliver really couldn’t help his Groomzilla control freak tendencies. “Are you trying to vet my vows Mr. Queen?”

“No nothing like that at all. Just excited to see what you wrote and I wanted to read them in this moment alone together before we exchange them in front of everyone,” he replied gently, tilting her face so that he was looking straight into her eyes. For a moment Felicity felt like she could hardly breath. She couldn’t believe that she was here with him and she was going to marry the man that she loved. And it was such an all-consuming type of love, something she had never experienced before in her life. Sure she knew that their lives would change one day as they grew older and had children but Felicity felt that the love, the passion and tenderness would always be there until the day they died.

***

“These are incredible,” Oliver cried as he read through the file she had sent him, looking slightly misty eyed. “I can’t believe you wrote these so fast. They capture everything about us that I wanted to write but couldn’t quite get into words.”

“Aww I’m glad they passed your vetting,” Felicity teased as she peppered his cheeks with kisses. “I bet you were worried that they were going to be sub par.”

“They are everything I’ve been wanting to write,” Oliver murmured, absentmindedly removing Felicity from his lap and depositing her back on the couch before reaching for his laptop.

“Hey,” Felicity replied indignantly at the sudden dismissal from he who had been waxing lyrical about her a minute ago. “What are you doing Oliver? Why am I banished from your lap?”

“I need to rewrite my vows. I’m going to model them after yours to make everything flow better,” he replied with the determined look of a man on a mission.

“You can’t plagiarise my vows!” Felicity shot him an exaggerated horrified look. “You can’t just decide to copy someone else’s vows even if they are from the person you’re marrying! Your vows were from your heart and you shouldn’t change them.”

“Nope these new ones are going to be from my heart and they will match beautifully with your structure,” Oliver waved her off as he began to type like a man possessed. 

“You are a crazy Groomzilla!” Felicity laughed as she stopped him for a moment to give him a prolonged kiss on the lips before settling back to watch her series, leaving him in peace to fine tune his vows to his heart’s content.

***

Oliver prowled outside Felicity’s bridal dressing room, glancing around nervously to make sure Thea was nowhere in sight. He had been spying for a while now and he was 99% sure that Felicity was alone in that room. Best case scenario no one would see him and he’d be able to sneak in a kiss or two without getting caught. If Iris spotted him she’d give him a knowing look and most likely let it slide. If Thea caught him, he may just have to limp to the wedding ceremony after she kicks his ass. Thea was a stickler for wedding traditions and had really exploited Felicity’s easygoing ways. Really his little sister had hijacked this wedding completely he thought somewhat irritably. You’d think it was her wedding. Sticking his jaw out defiantly Oliver turned the handle of the dressing room door and walked in. 

For a moment he forgot to breathe because the sight that greeted him took his breath away. It was Felicity, his Felicity in a vision of white lace and frill, looking every bit the Disney Princess she had confessed to wanting to emulate but with the impish, elfin air that was unique only to Felicity. Even after a year Oliver still had trouble believing that someone like him could end with a girl like her. Felicity was everything he had ever needed and did not know he wanted until that fateful day at Palmer Tech. 

“Hi,” he beamed at her, suddenly feeling shy and nervous at the same time. “I…I just had to see you. I couldn’t wait.”

“Thea is going to KILL you if she finds you here,” Felicity yelped, glancing around uneasily as if she were expecting Thea to magically emerge any minute. “And you’re not supposed to see me before the wedding! It’s bad luck! Oh Thea is going to rampage if she finds you in here.”

“I’ve missed you,” he continued smiling at her with a goofy, smitten look on his face while pulling her towards him. “We should have just eloped! This wedding was a terrible idea.” 

Felicity briefly forgot to be terrified of Thea and leaned into him before responding, “It would have broken Moira and Thea’s hearts.”

“Thirty more minutes and we’ll get this over and done with. Then we can go hide in the Maldives and go back to our lives before this wedding debacle started,” he signed, burying his nose into her hair which had been swept up in an elaborate up do. 

“You fickle man,” Felicity laughed at him. “This elaborate wedding was all your idea.”

“I was so excited that YOU would actually agree to marry me, I got swept away in the moment. Before I realized what happened I caught myself in a yelling match with Thea over the flower arrangements and that’s when I realized I had lost my mind,” Oliver replied sorrowfully, although Felicity noticed his face had migrated from her hair to nuzzling into her neck.

“I suppose I should be glad that you’re in here trying to ruin my bridal look by giving me a hickey on the neck instead of getting cold feet,” Felicity giggled as Oliver hit a particularly ticklish spot on her neck.

“Cold feet? With you? NEVER!” Oliver declared, before going for broke and pulling her up for a kiss. The kiss had started out innocently enough, although to be fair their kisses were never particularly innocent. In this instance however Oliver was mindful that Felicity was dressed up in her finest finery to be his bride and he was just thirty minutes away from getting everything he wanted so he had only intended to give her a chaste kiss to take the edge off not seeing her for an entire day yesterday. The kiss soon spiralled out of control with both of them going for it, tongues duelling, lips smashing and Felicity’s arms winding around his neck while Oliver ran his hands across her bare shoulders.

“OH MY FREAKING GOD!!!!! WHAT THE HELL YOU TWO!!!!!! BREAK IT UP RIGHT NOW!” The very distressed scream of a furious Thea Queen boomed at the two guilty parties, who immediately paused mid tongue duel and turned to face Thea guiltily. 

“Felicity your face!!!!!” Thea screeched. “It’s rubbed off all over Ollie’s face! I don’t know how I am going to fix this! I can’t fix this! Your faces are unfixable! We should just cancel the wedding right now because everything I have worked for is for naught. I cannot deal with this! I will not deal with this! I can’t believe you snuck in here just before her grand entrance to ruin my work Ollie!”

“Her lipstick is just a bit smudged. Remember you insisted on the non-smudge make up? Nothing a bit of make up remover, a quick touch up and a new swipe of lipstick can’t fix,” Iris clucked soothingly, keeping a cool head amidst the Queen meltdown. “You’re Thea Queen fashion and make up guru. You refused to hire a make up artist remember? There is nothing you can’t fix. You assess their faces and tell me what to do.”

“We are very sorry,” Felicity squeaked. “Oliver missed me and I missed him and we were just going to have a teeny tiny kiss to calm our nerves and…” 

Before she could finish her sentence Thea yanked them apart and pushed Oliver out of the door. “Iris can you deal with him and get rid of all that lipstick on his face? Take him away before I stab him with a make up brush.” 

Oliver was about to open his mouth to protest but thought better of it when he saw Thea’s ferocious glare. “Do not speak Ollie. Just leave with Iris right now if you know what’s good for you.”

Mouthing a quick “I love you” to Felicity, Oliver obediently followed Iris who led him away sympathetically whilst looking like she was trying her very best to stop herself from breaking out in a fit of laughter.

After they had gone, Felicity once again tried to apologise. 

“Don’t!” Thea warned her. “Just don’t! I don’t want to know about whatever it is you and my brother get up to! You can make it up to me by sitting here silently and letting me fix your face. You’re lucky I think you’re the perfect wife for him which is why I’m going to let this incident go.”

Felicity obeyed Thea by remaining silent but she did lean over to give the younger Queen a kiss on the forehead, which seemed to appease Thea enormously and earned her a fond smile. 

***

“Felicity Queen. It suits you my dear,” Robert Queen beamed at his daughter in law as he twirled her around the dance floor. “Moira and I can’t tell you how thrilled we are you embraced the family name. I always figured you were a woman who would hyphenate.” 

“I considered it,” Felicity grinned at her father in law, who really was charming and a most marvellous dancer. Light on his feet and very nimble. “*But Felicity Smoak-Queen sounds too much like a mysterious woman who lives in the mystical mountains. And I am a woman of science so definitely no mystical mountains for me.”

“Speaking of science, now that you have the Queen name, won’t you join the family business Felicity? We had such high hopes for Oliver but it appears that he’s quite content to forge his own path, the future of QC rests with you.” Even at his own son’s wedding Robert could not resist the urge to talk shop. Felicity was used to this by now and did not take offence. Still it puzzled her that Moira and Robert who had been so relaxed with Oliver in his youth were so determined and pushy when it came to her joining the family business.

“You know I can’t Robert,” Felicity responded firmly. “I’ve committed myself to Palmer Technologies for the next few years and you know how important it is for me to deliver on my promises. Besides you don’t need to look far for your heir apparent. You have that person right in front of you with Thea.”

“Thea will do very well once she’s had time to grow. But what QC needs desperately is an executive with a science or computing background. That’s what we’ve always lacked.” 

Robert Queen was an incredibly persistent man. Sunday brunches could prove to be a challenge from now on if he was going to give her this spiel at every family gathering Felicity thought to herself. She was about to firmly decline one more time when Oliver with his impeccable timing appeared to rescue her.

“May I cut in and dance with my wife dad?” he asked pleasantly. Today was too much of a joyous occasion for him to be annoyed at his father for trying to push Felicity into the family business. Today was the day that he, Oliver Queen had fought so hard for in the past year and he finally had everything he had ever wanted.

“Of course you may son. I want to tell you both how thrilled your mother and I are that you found each other. Never in our wildest dreams did we think you’d end up with someone like Felicity son. All the meddling and money in the world could not have made this happen. It was an extraordinary stroke of luck. Moira is so happy she may just cut in for a dance with Felicity next if you’re not careful.” He grabbed both of their hands and smiled a radiant smile at them. Felicity bit back a giggle that was threatening to bubble over. It never ceased to amuse her how much approval Robert and Moira lavished on her and how their son had ended up selecting the textbook wife they would have picked for him.

“Thank you Robert, I’m a bit fond of you too! Even if you keep hassling me about the family business,” Felicity chuckled, leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

*** 

“Mrs. Queen,” Oliver’s voice was soft as he nuzzled his nose against hers, pulling her closer to him. 

“Mr. Queen,” she whispered back, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with emotion. To think there was a time when she thought this kind of happiness would elude her. Standing there with her body pressed against his, swaying to the music together, Felicity realized that no matter what the future had in store for them it had all been worth it. Every moment in the past year had been worth living for and it had been such a glorious year full of splendors and joy. She had taken a leap of faith and had let herself love and be loved. Felicity leaned against Oliver’s chest and closed her eyes.

***

To the day of his death Oliver would never forget that single terrifying moment in his life. The moment where everything he had ever wanted had been bestowed on him and then cruelly ripped away. 

Felicity had looked up at him with such love, adoration and reverence in her eyes before she crumpled in his arms. 

“Felicity.” 

He could hear his voice screaming the name he had once so joyously uttered, as he watched the love of his life slip away from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I promised earlier I am NOT going to kill Felicity so it's all going to be ok!!!
> 
> *I stole this line from someone on the internet with her permission
> 
> ***
> 
> Shameless Plug: If you are in need of cheering up after this chapter and haven't read it already please check out my two part short story which originated from a very silly prompt! It's a fun Olicity Story with a bit of Raylicity thrown in (NO love triangle so don't worry). I figure you guys who are reading More than Blue probably don't hate Ray that much so you might enjoy this story.
> 
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/10760112/chapters/24591333


	14. Cool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Guys!!!!!!
> 
> Here is your update! Hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who read this story and gave it a chance despite there being a fair bit of Raylicity at the start and despite all of my dubious warnings!
> 
> I struggled with parts of this story but your comments and kudos really cheered me on so thank you!

“Surgery went very well. It’s expected that she will make a full recovery.”

Oliver could barely contain himself from hugging and swinging the brisk mannered, no nonsense nurse who delivered the news to him. She uttered a few more instructions but Oliver was too overcome with relief to pay proper attention. Yes he longed to see Felicity but he would see her in good time. They now had a whole lifetime together. All that he cared about was that she was going to be fine and they would no longer have the shadow of her illness haunting them any longer.

It was as if a dark cloud had been lifted from him, letting small slivers of sunshine return. He couldn’t quite explain it and had felt like a mad man for having such thoughts but for the few months after Felicity agreed to marry him Oliver felt like he was living on borrowed time with her. He knew he was less than a saint in his past relationships and even though he had grown and changed and could never be that person again, there was a part of him that wondered if the universe had sent Felicity to teach him a lesson. The ultimate payback for the trail of broken hearts and promises he had left behind in his youth.

For months he lived with the constant nagging fear that Felicity would be taken away from him as some form of punishment and when she had collapsed in his arms right after the wedding, Oliver felt an indescribable despair that his one year of happiness with Felicity had come at a price and now the heavens were going to descend and collect their debt from him.

Finally he felt free again. Whatever had been haunting him, the uneasiness, the fear, the feeling of constantly living waiting for the other shoe to drop was behind him. They would still be them, as in love as ever but in a sense it felt like they were going to get a fresh start with the threat of her illness behind them.

“She’s going to be ok,” Ray walked up to him holding two mugs of coffee, a big grin lighting up his face. Their friends and family had all taken turns to keep Oliver company despite his protests and it was fortuitous that Ray should happen to be here just as news of Felicity’s successful surgery broke. In a peculiar twist of fate, Oliver found Ray’s presence to be the most comforting out of everyone he knew, that latter having been in this position before and seemed to know exactly what to say or rather what not to say. Oliver was grateful for the hours Ray had spent just listening to him as he unburdened all his fears. 

“Did you run into the nurse on the way down here too?” Oliver asked, accepting a coffee while beaming at the other man.

“No I could tell by the look on your face. That’s the look of a man who had just received some great news.” Ray’s smile faltered and a look of sadness flickered in his eyes as the memories of his past resurfaced. Oliver noticed it at once and felt bad for all the awful memories that must have been dredged up for Ray over the past few days. It was a miracle that Ray had been able to stay in the hospital, so calm and composed to see him through this.

“I…I really appreciate everything you’ve done over the last few days Ray. All the times you’ve listened and talked me down from the brink. You’re a very strong guy. I just can’t imagine being here like you stayed here, after everything you’ve gone through.”

“I’m not going to lie, this place does bring back a lot of memories of my last days with Anna and those memories hurt but as clichéd as it sounds time does heal most wounds. Well they still hurt but you learn to live with it. I’m thrilled that Felicity pulled through though. Thrilled not only for you but for all of us.” Ray paused as if considering whether he should say what he was about to say next but decided to continue anyway.

“You know for the last few years I haven’t been able to move on. I tried but I would keep replaying my relationship with Felicity over and over again wondering where it went wrong for us, what I did, what she did, why it ended the way it ended, why she continued to work with me but wouldn’t budge from her stance. I feel like finally I have closure.” A sad smile crossed Ray’s face and Oliver couldn’t help feeling a pang of guilt that this poor man had been here supporting him for the past few days while battling his own demons. Ray loved Felicity and he was essentially reliving his nightmares with Anna silently while trying to support Oliver at the same time.

“I’ve been fixated on myself and on the possibility of losing Felicity I haven’t even stopped to think of how this could be affecting you. I’m really sorry Ray,” Oliver apologized, meaning every word of it. For some reason he felt like he needed to explain himself to Ray, he felt like he had snatched the happiness that this man could have had.

“Felicity and I became friends after we ended up on the PQ Labs project together. I was aware through various media outlets that you and Felicity had history together…I was there when she collapsed one night. I brought her to the hospital and pushed her into telling me everything. You should have seen her. She was so determined to be alone, so certain that her condition was a curse she could never run from. She was terrified of hurting you. It killed her to think that she had hurt you but I think she would have rather rejected you over and over again than make you live through what you did with Anna.”

“For what it’s worth I would have stayed.” Ray looked at Oliver sadly, his eyes growing watery.

“I know,” Oliver responded, reaching out to slap the other man awkwardly on the shoulder. “And Felicity knew as well, that’s why she went out of her way to put an end to your history together. She really wanted to kill all hopes of a relationship with anyone really. That’s why for three years she never moved on with anyone else.”

“How…how did you two…?” Ray drifted off not knowing what to ask. There were so many things he wanted to know, felt like he needed to know but really it wasn’t his place.

“I used my play boy reputation to convince her to have a no strings attached relationship with me. Deep down she didn’t want to be alone. She just thought she did and for a while I strung her along, assuring her that it was nothing more than an exclusive no strings attached arrangement. Then by the time we were both in it too deep to get out there was nothing else for her to do but marry me. We had built a life together whether she wanted to admit it or not.” Oliver didn’t know why he was telling Ray all this. Perhaps it was due to the sheer relief he felt upon hearing that Felicity was going to make a full recovery. Perhaps it was to absolve himself from the guilt that he felt for essentially ending up with what could have been Ray’s happiness.

“Wow…wow. Way to get the girl Oliver. I don’t mean that in a bad way. I am actually really grateful that you found another way to convince Felicity she didn’t need to be alone. She was on her way to becoming more of a recluse and if that collapse hadn’t happened in your arms, at your wedding, it could have happened while she was alone, hiding from the world, buried in work. I’m happy for you both. Believe it or not I was grateful when things looked like they started getting serious between you and Felicity. Suddenly Felicity and I had our old rapport back. I may have lost the girl I loved but I got my tech buddy back and we hadn’t been like that for so long. That easy friendship had died with our relationship so I owe it to you for giving that back to me. And thank you for telling me what you told me. You didn’t need to and I’m grateful for it. I can finally close that chapter of my life now.”

Ray held out a hand, which Oliver took and shook awkwardly. For some reason the handshake felt odd and strangely distant after everything they had gone through over the last few days. They looked at each other uncomfortably before gingerly settling on a man hug, which although awkward seemed more suitable for the occasion.

***

“I just got a text from Donna. She’s just found her way back to the hospital again but she’s currently wandering around the grounds lost. I better send Thea to go find her,” Oliver chuckled; his eyes diverting back onto Felicity after he quickly shot off a text to Thea. He didn’t dare take his eyes off her or leave her side. Since Felicity woke up he had been glued to her side for the past three hours for fear that she would vanish if he didn’t have his eyes trained on her.

“Better Thea than Moira,” Felicity sighed. Having recovered from her surgery and being told that she was to make a full recovery, Felicity now found herself dealing with more typical worries such as how Moira Queen was going to react to being in very close proximity to Donna Smoak now that there were no more wedding formalities and politeness to buffer them.

“They’ve been getting along really well, surprisingly enough,” Oliver informed her cheerfully, only to be met by an incredulous raised eyebrow. “I was in a very bad place when you first collapsed, the only person who I could stand around me was Ray so Mother and Thea eventually convinced Donna to take a break from the hospital and she had a bit of a meltdown and decided to give them all the home spa treatments.”

“That sounds like my mother alright,” Felicity laughed. “Poor Thea and Moira. Send them in soon I really must thank them for keeping mom occupied.”

“Oh they loved it,” Oliver laughed. “They were good at distracting each other actually.”

“So…you and Ray huh? I’m so glad that he was there for you but that has got to be one of the strangest outcomes ever. My husband and my ex bonding together for hours.”

“Ray’s a great guy,” Oliver smiled. 

“You better not harbor thoughts of leaving me for him Mister!” Felicity wagged her finger at Oliver.

“Are you threatened?” Oliver grinned cheekily at her. “After all he’s got a very similar personality to you and he looks like a Disney Prince.”

Felicity swatted Oliver playfully before her expression became serious again. “How is Ray doing? It must have been hard for him being here, facing all this again. I never wanted for him to have to be in a hospital under these circumstances and it’s weird that the universe led him here all the same.”

“I think he’ll be ok. He’s very strong despite that perky exterior. Just like you. I told him everything though. Everything that happened between you and I. Except I didn’t mention that you collapsed that night you guys had a fight. I didn’t think it was necessary and would hurt him more. I hope you don’t mind me telling him about what happened between us. I felt like after everything he had done for me I owed him an explanation.” Oliver took Felicity’s hands gently and gave them a squeeze.

“You did the right thing,” Felicity smiled at him. “For a long time I’ve felt like I should have told him but there was never a right time. And we were back to being good friends again and for the first time I could be around him like when I was with Barry or Iris or Thea. It felt weird to try and flag him down before the wedding to dredge up the past.”

“I’m sorry Ray didn’t get his happy ending with you Felicity, I truly am, but I’m so glad you’re mine. When we first started “us” I wanted you so much, I wanted this day so badly but I never thought that a boy like me could end up with a girl like you.” He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them with reverence. 

“Awww you big sap,” Felicity laughed at him, tears welling in her eyes. They had made it; they were going to be ok. Love had never been a problem for them but with her illness casting a shadow over them it had sometimes felt like love wasn’t enough to give them a lifetime together. Now for the first time they were free to dream about the future to their heart’s content. “I’m sorry I ruined your dream wedding by the way. Nothing ruins a wedding like a collapsed bride.”

“At least you got that surgery I wanted you to get before the honeymoon,” Oliver responded good-naturedly, giving Felicity a soft kiss on the lips, being extra mindful to keep it PG lest one of the hospital staff walked in on them.

***

“How much did the share prices go down by? Tell me they didn’t go down at all and you’ll make my day?” Felicity peeped up from her covers looking hopefully at Ray as he walked into her room lugging a giant stuffed panda bear.

“14% fall but rose again by 8% upon news of your full recovery. Although that should be of no concern to you right now.” Ray pulled up and chair and sat next to her bed.

“If course it’s a concern for me! It’s my career Ray. It’s everything I’ve worked for. 6% drop overall, bad but could be so much worse. I’ll take it.”

“The even better news is this has taught Dennis a good lesson on what share prices would look like if you decided to up and leave for Queens Consolidated,” Ray added grinning at Felicity, knowing fully well that despite being bed bound she was going to appreciate the Palmer Tech gossip.

Felicity rolled her eyes at the mention of Dennis. “I’m surprised that man didn’t try to call for my ouster while I was in surgery. Or better yet sneak in here and unplug my tubes so I’d be gone for good.”

“Oh he wouldn’t dare, he’s seen what that would do to share prices,” Ray replied with mock exaggeration.

“Enough shop talk though. How are you doing? You look good.” He leaned over to examine her face thoroughly. She was still a tad pale but looked remarkably well for someone who was recovering from a major procedure.

Felicity couldn’t help but marvel at how comfortable things were between them. Maybe everything did happen for a reason after all. “I feel good. I’m just sorry you had to be dragged in here all over again. I…I feel like I need to apologise for…for everything that happened between us.”

“Nothing to apologise for. I understand why you did what you did and why you couldn’t tell me. And you were right for not telling me. I _would_ have waited for you forever Felicity if I had known. And I think even though I loved you and you loved me I don’t think you and I had what you have with Oliver. And you deserve that. I am happy you found that kind of love in your life and I would always want that for you.” He squeezed her arm gently and she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek affectionately. What happened in the past had happened and the only thing they could do now was to cherish the great friendship they had and nurture it.

***

Felicity and Ray’s quiet contemplative moment was interrupted by Barry bounding in like an out of control puppy while Oliver followed him looking like a somewhat disgruntled pet sitter.

“Felicity,” Barry practically yelled before dashing to her side, pushing Ray out of the way in his excitement. He was received by an equally enthusiastic Felicity who yanked him down for a big hug. 

“Ooomph,” Barry yelped, despite his beaming smile. “You’re very strong for someone who’s recovering from surgery.” 

“Is it me or did she give him the most affectionate greeting out of all of us?” Ray asked Oliver, eyeing Barry and Felicity with mock disapproval. “I didn’t get a big loving hug, did you?”

“Nope,” Oliver responded folding his arms and pretending to glare daggers at Barry. “She asked me to get her tablet so she could rebook her honeymoon tickets. No hug.” 

“Oh boys don’t be like that! Barry can’t help it if he’s the most loveable out of you lot. He’s just like pudding,” Felicity laughed as Ray grinned along good-naturedly while Oliver actually scowled at her. 

Barry settled down next to her side and peered at Oliver nervously. Barry thought they were friends. They had even eaten several dinners together when Barry had visited Starling while Felicity was away on a last minute business trip. However Oliver had such a great intensity when it came to Felicity that made Barry nervous. He could never tell if the other man was joking and in good humour or if he was seriously pissed off about something.

His nerves getting the better of him, Barry made a decidedly silly statement. “Hey Felicity I just realized all your exes are in the same room right now! We should call up your loser college boyfriend and it would be a full reunion.”

“Barry! I dated you for a week! One week! Do you really need to remind everyone about it?” Felicity elbowed him roughly, despite not really feeling up to it. “Why did they even let you in here without Iris?”

“They would only let three people in the room at a time and he was dead keen to see you. Since you love him best and all,” Oliver deadpanned. Barry looked around nervously wondering if he was serious or not. Meanwhile Ray watched the conversation unfolding before him in fascination.

“Well maybe I shouldn’t use the term exes. Sensitive subject! All the men who have eaten your cooking then,” Barry grinned looking pleased at his attempt to get himself out of the jam he was in.

“You eat her cooking?” Oliver shot at him, causing Barry to jump in his chair. “You didn’t tell me you ate her cooking.”

“Hey!” Felicity protested. “Barry loves my cooking. Don’t you Barry? Maybe that’s why he’s my favourite.” She glared at Ray and Oliver, looking miffed.

“Did you eat her cooking?” Oliver asked Ray with exaggerated politeness. 

“I tried once but never again after the first time,” Ray replied with equal dignity.

“Hey don’t knock it, her chicken parmigiana is really the best out there,” Barry defended his friend with a sudden flash of spirit. “There’s nothing like it. She buys these breaded chicken cutlets and reheats them in the toaster oven. Then she drizzles ketchup on them and puts some cheese on top and sticks it under the broiler to melt. I’ve eaten that dish everywhere but nothing compares to Felicity’s version.” Barry was rather emphatic about this, passionate even. He raised his chin and looked at Oliver defiantly.

“I’m going to run out and find Iris now before you kill him,” Ray headed towards the door. “Seems like you guys need to have a long chat about the sordid details of who eats whose cooking.”

***

“Does he really eat your cooking,” Oliver asked sleepily as he pulled Felicity’s hand to his lips and pressed a kiss onto it. After much pleading and cajoling, a nurse had felt extremely sorry for him and had agreed to let him pull over the second bed in Felicity’s private room so that he could lay next to her during the night.

“Yes he does and I don’t know why you’re so sensitive about it,” Felicity let out a sleepy huff of laughter.

“He looked me point blank to my face when I made him dinner and told me how good my cooking was. He eats double entrees at Verdant Dining, on the house and now today he has the gall to tell me he loves your frozen chicken and ketchup.” Oliver was still so incredibly offended by this.

Felicity despite being drowsy with sleep (it had been an action packed day with all her visitors) could not resist opening her eyes to laugh at him. “Let it go Oliver! People will like what they will like.”

“But it makes no sense,” Oliver protested. 

“I’m going to get the nurses to kick you out if you keep trashing my cooking!”

“I love you. Did you know when they were operating on you I vowed to eat your cooking if you made a full recovery?” Oliver murmured sleepily.

“You were desperate. Desperate people do desperate things, including striking deals about my cooking.” Felicity gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. 

“I’d eat your cooking for the rest of my life if it meant having you with me forever.” Oliver rolled onto his side to face her and grabbed her right hand, pulling it to his chest and cuddling it sleepily. He didn’t dare move too close to her bed lest the nurses kick him out.

“Tis true love,” Felicity mumbled as she fell asleep, still wearing a grin on her face. Oliver kissed her hand again before pressing it to his chest as he too drifted off to sleep with visions of burnt cutlets and Felicity in nothing but a skimpy apron dancing in his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title comes from this song by Gwen Stefani:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGwZ7MNtBFU
> 
> ***
> 
> I have always adored Barry and Ray as Felicity's other love interests and have always wanted them in the same scene so I loved writing this chapter!
> 
> I think we can end here however I kind of feel like it's not a proper Olicity story if we're missing the marvellous John Diggle and he has not been introduced in this universe. I have an idea of how to bring him into Chapter 15 which will be your epilogue but I will see how I go as I have other stuff I want to write and really need to update A Little Fall of Rain for those folks.


	15. Heaven Sent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Guys!!!
> 
> Sorry it took so long for me to finish this off!
> 
> Here is your final update! I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Not bad for a story I was going to abandon midway I think!
> 
> It's been a pleasure writing for you and thank you for reading!

**Five years later**

 

O: Did you remember to bring the lunch I packed for you this morning before I left?

F: Yes! But Melon had a craving for shepherds pie so I raided your freezer and took a serve of that instead. Don’t worry will heat it up until it spits like crazy.

O: There is no shepherds pie left in the fridge sweetheart

F: Yes there was, in ramekin, potatoes on top

O: Are you sure that’s potatoes and not cobbler topping?

F: What is cobbler topping supposed to look like?

O: Jab finger into it, will be hard and won’t dent down like mashed potato, also my shepherds pie has cheese on top

F: LOL yes it is cobbler as you say! Will buy lunch and bring it home

O: I’ll drop by your office and bring you lunch 

F: No more healthy lunches! Do not drop by! Will being going to BBB by myself. Talk about it tonight after I’ve pigged out on BBB in peace.

 

Oliver stared at his phone, his fingers itching to grab his car keys and drive off to Palmer Tech to accost Felicity before she made it out to lunch. For a brief moment he also considered ringing Ray to try and convince him to tag along to lunch with Felicity and make sure she didn’t go too crazy with all the sugar and sodium on the Big Belly menu.

It suddenly dawned on Oliver that he was about to ring the CEO of Palmer Tech to get him to stalk the COO (Felicity had since moved on from her VP position). At this rate he may as well ring up his father and get the CEO of Queens Consolidated to spy on his daughter in law’s eating habits too.

He really was losing his marbles. Something about the combination of Felicity’s pregnancy and both of them diving into unknown was causing him to unravel. In those rare moments when he wasn’t being struck down with some sort of fear or paranoia surrounding Felicity’s well being, he could objectively look in and see how over bearing he was, all under the guise of being a loving husband. He hadn’t even baked her a dessert in ages and yet he recalled promising her a rotation of pies if she ever fell pregnant one day.

Oliver was obsessed with preserving Felicity’s health. They had both wanted this baby so much and had been pleasantly surprised when Felicity fell pregnant easily and sailed through her pregnancy without even a bout of morning sickness. According to her doctors she was in perfect health, according to their obstetrician the baby was in perfect health. Harmony Test results were all clear. It was a textbook pregnancy yet somehow Oliver kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Even after all these years with her, there was a part of him that would sometimes think maybe this was all too good to be true and everything would be ripped away from him. The fear had remained a tiny seed in his mind during their first few years together but with Felicity’s pregnancy it had steadily grown until he felt it was now on the cusp of dominating his life.

They had discussed it several times and although Felicity always literally welcomed him with open arms (his head often resting on her protruding belly while she stoked his hair and listened to his fears) Oliver was starting to feel like it wasn’t fair for her to try and bake their little Melon, spend all day running Palmer Tech and also manage his insecurities at the same time. He wanted to be the one to support her, especially during such a new and unknown time in her life. 

***

“Dr Diggle, I have Oliver Queen on the phone. He wants to make an appointment with you, without his wife present. I’ve told him you don’t usually take appointments without your patients but he insisted that he only had general questions, nothing to do with his wife’s health. You’re booked out for the rest of the week though.” Pearl relayed the facts of the situation calmly and efficiently as she always did, her voice showing no hint of the amusement she felt that Oliver Queen was once again looking to wreak havoc on her boss.

In what Pearl considered to be one of the most memorable appointments ever, Oliver had pulled out a long list of pregnancy related conditions which he googled and had insisted on running through each condition with Dr. Diggle much to his wife’s horror. Pearl was not privy to what actually went on during the check up or how Dr. Diggle handled the matter, but she had applauded herself for keeping a serene straight-faced in the waiting lounge as she watched Felicity Queen take a red pen to go through her husband’s list, striking out any questions which Felicity deemed to be beyond ridiculous.

“Schedule him in for 8 am tomorrow morning. If he can make it I’ll see him before my other appointments.” John Diggle let out a long sigh as he said this. Oliver Queen was a pain but John was fond of Felicity who was the polar opposite of her husband. Relaxed, easy going and sensible, Felicity Queen had quickly become one of his favorite patients. If he could appease Oliver Queen so that he did not smother and fawn over his poor wife too much, he considered it worth the effort. He had soothed many a distressed father-to-be and was confident that he could do the same for Oliver.

John Diggle in his youth, served two tours in the army where he had witnessed more death and destruction than he cared to think about. On his second tour, he had serendipitously been involved in assisting with the birth of a baby of one of the villagers. He would never forget the loud cries of the precious little bundle; the tired but proud mom’s face and the feeling of hope and peace he had felt after that encounter. He received an honorable discharged and when faced with the question of what to do with the rest of his life, John had undertaken the monumental task of going back to school to begin his journey to practice obstetrics.

Fourteen years later he was now operating his own thriving practice. It had been a long road to get here but John was happy. He had gone from witnessing so much death to constantly basking in the possibility of new life. The job came with it’s difficulties and not every pregnancy had a happy ending but John was proud of the work he did and lived for the 6 week post natal check ups where he would see tired, weary parents bringing in their bundles of joys to greet him.

***

“You want me to recommend a support group for you? For new and expecting fathers?” John asked, shifting in his chair slightly as he paused to digest this piece of information. Oliver had waltzed into his appointment, looking resigned and thoughtful as he asked for recommendations for a good support group for new fathers.

“I can certainly do that but may I ask you first why this sudden urge to join a fathers group? Are you experiencing antenatal depression? Because if you feel like you are, apart from the fathers groups I can also recommend a good counsellor for you to speak to about anything you feel you need to work through.”

Oliver smiled gently and shook his head. “No antenatal depression. I’m the happiest man alive Dr. Diggle. I just have some fears, primarily about losing her, losing them really. I don’t know…It's probably stupid but I feel like if I surrounded myself with a bunch of other fathers who have healthy babies I’d calm down somehow.” 

“Ahh yes I read about what happened at your wedding a few years ago. That was a big thing to process Oliver. I can certainly give you some details of the support services for fathers but may I ask you one thing?”

“Sure,” Oliver replied. He hadn’t expected Dr. Diggle to be so patient with him. He had braced himself for a few exasperated looks and was pleasantly surprised at how sympathetic the other man was to his plight.

“I have enough background on your situation to understand why you worry and why you feel the way you do. But what do you think all this anxiety and vigilant behaviour will achieve?” The question was delivered in an encouraging tone without any judgment attached to it.

“I guess I just feel like if I wrap them up on cotton wool, I could prepare for anything that would take place. That if anything happened I could look back and know that I did my best and was prepared for it all. I don’t want to think what if. What if I had read about some condition? What if I had spoken to more doctors? What if I had noticed the symptoms earlier? I want to feel like I did everything in my power to keep them safe.”

“Oliver, if anything were to happen to them, you being prepared for it, or the fact that you were able to predict it, isn’t going to make you feel any better. I think it will do you good to see some other fathers with healthy babies facing more mundane problems like sleep deprivation or dealing with baby vomit. Just remember this Oliver, whatever that’s going to happen will happen. Enjoy them for the time being, love them, spend your time with them and make memories. You can’t fight the universe or fate, you can only try to make the most of every day you have.”

***

Felicity let out an audible groan as she sunk into the couch. Even her teeny tiny one-inch heels were starting to cause her grief. She was going to have to abandon them for flats permanently at this rate or God forbid, Sketchers if her feet continued to be this sore by the end of the day.

She slunk her back further into the couch and patted her bulging tummy fondly. Sore feet aside, Melon really had been good to her. No morning, day or night sickness to speak of and she had continued to be able to toddle around the office, attending meetings, without so much as a niggle except for the sore feet at the end of the day.

“As soon as Mommy gets her feet rested, Mommy will haul herself off this couch and get you a snack,” Felicity informed Melon cheerfully, giving Melon another affectionate rub.

“No need to get up,” Oliver’s voice floated over as he suddenly materialized like a ninja out of nowhere.

“I didn’t see your car. I thought you’d be back later than me today. Aren’t you meeting with some new micro herb suppliers?”

“I came back early just to bake you this.” Oliver proudly placed a dish with a piece of golden peach pie, topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream on Felicity’s tummy, using Melon as a portable table. He had even gone so far as to pipe a whipped cream rosette on top of the ice cream.

Without waiting for any further comment, Felicity grabbed the spoon off him and began to scarf down the pie happily.

“I’m sorry,” Oliver said, kissing the side of her head as he watched her eat.

“Oliver you baked me a fresh peach pie. What on earth are you apologizing for?” Felicity responded between delicious mouthfuls.

“I should have baked you all the pies you wanted sooner, not waited until you were seven months pregnant to finally do it. I’m sorry I’ve been such a pain and so over protective about everything. I remember promising to have a rotation of pies for you a few years ago if you ever got pregnant and now that you’re pregnant all I do is try to ply you with healthy super foods and fawn over you like you’re going to break.”

Felicity paused and lifted up her pie plate, signalling for Oliver to lie down on the couch and rest his head on Melon. She gave him a sticky kiss on the cheek before speaking.

“I love you Oliver. And I know every thing you do, you do it out of love. You just need to accept that dodgy heart aside; it appears that I apparently breed extremely well! Textbook pregnancy so far remember? God forbid, relax and just enjoy it with me. Don’t go looking for trouble that isn’t there yet.”

“I love you,” Oliver smiled up at his wife before burying his face into her tummy to kiss Melon. “And I love you too. Daddy promises more pie for the both of you from now on.”

 

 


End file.
